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GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY 

OF THE 

COUNTY OF JEFFERSON 

NEW YORK 

A RECORD OF THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF HER PEOPLE AND THE 

Phenomenal Growth of her Agricultural and 
Mechanical Industries 



COMPILED UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF 

THE LATE R. A. OAKES 

CUSTODIAN OF THE JEFFERSON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY 



" R'no7ulcdge of kindred and the genealogies of the ancient families descrveth the 
highest praise. Herein consistcth a part of the knoudedge of a man's own self. It is a 
great spur to virtue to look back on the worth of our line. "—Lord Bacon. 

'■'There is no heroic poem in the world but is at the bottom the life of a man."— Sir 
Walter Scott. 



ILLUSTRATED 

Volume I 



NEW YORK CHICAGO 

THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY 

1905 



1^ 



Vp\II\ 



\^^ 



PREFACE. 



AMONG the sixty-one counties that form the great Empire state, 
none exceed Jefferson County in the romance of its liistory. Geo- 
logically, it was the first land that parted the seething waters in 
the abysses of time. For untold asons great seas rolled over it, and 
later the chisels of the ice age gouged out its valleys and polished its 
rocks. 

Within the historic period the intrepid explorers of New France 
sailed up the majestic river that defines its northern borders. Every- 
where within its boundaries are found innumerable relics of a vanished 
race, whose identity must ever remain a matter of conjecture. When 
discovered by the white man, its territory was owned conjointly by the 
Onondagas and Oneidas of the- league of the Iroquois. Some three 
centuries later the New England States gave the flower of their man- 
hood for its peopling. The men and women who settled Jefferson 
County were peers of all that is best in humanity, and from them have 
descended statesmen, jurists, financiers, clerics and litterateurs, of whom 
any county may justly feel proud. It has furnished four Governors 
for as many states. Among its early settlers were many of the nobility 
of France, including an exiled King of Spain, and preparations were 
made to give within its borders refuge to the Great Napoleon, should 
plans for his rescue from the bleak rocks of St. Helena have prevailed. 

It is of these heroic men and their living descendants that these 
volumes treat, and in its preparation the best printed authorities have 
been critically consulted, and many additional facts hitherto unpublished 
have been procured by members of the editorial staff through personal 
interviews. 

The engagement of the late Rensselaer A. Oakes as editor was a 
very happy arrangement for all concerned. A student by nature, accus- 
tomed to deep researches, he gave the benefit of his disciplined mind to 
the work, and much of its value is due to his ability and efforts. His 
plans were perfected before his untimely death, and most of his work 
was finished before that lamentable event. His lieutenants, being well 



PREFACE. 

schooled under his direction, were able to carry forward any unfinished 
work along lines laid down by him. To the courtesy of the newspapers 
and their editors, and the cheerful co-operation of those having valuable 
data in their possession, much credit is due. Acknowledgments are due 
to the Hungerford-Holbrook Company, the clerk of the Board of Super- 
visors, and several editors for the loan of cuts used in the eniMlishmeiit 
of the work. Many plates have been especially made by the publishers 
for this purpose. 

It is with a feeling of confidence that all and more than could lie 
reasonably expected under the conditions found has been accomplished 
that the publishers present the work to discriminating judges. In many 
cases, no clue could be found to the origin of good families in Jefferson 
County, so that it was imixjssible, usually, to carry lines back. But, 
in eight out of ten instances where a definite location could be found in 
New England, genealogical lines have been traced, to the delight and 
surprise of many individuals. Nothing has been printed that was not 
submitted to some one interested for correction and revision and, as far 
as finite limitation.s wili permit, accuracy has been secured. 



INDEX. 



Acheson, Thomas J., 703. 
Adams, Charles F., 982. 
Adams, Charles L., 739. 
Adams, Charles S., 1241. 
Adams, Hector, 592. 
Adams, Israel, 648. 
Adams, Murray M., 454. 
Ainsworth, Willard, 583. 
Allen, John J., 200. 
Allen, Joseph, 994. 
Anderson, Frederick C, 1 141. 
Andriis, David I.. 1015. 
Andrus, Elisha. 1012. 
Andrus, Ezekiel (i), 1009. 
Andrus, Ezekiel (2), loio. 
Andrus, Merritt M., 1013. 
Andrus, Seward E., 1015. 
Andrus, Sherwood D., 1014. 
Andrus, Stillman, loio. 
Andrus, The Family, ioo8r=^^ 
Arthur, Herbert M., 414. 
Arthur, The Family, 412. 

Babcock, George H., 87. 
Babcock, Frederick J., 91. 
Babcock, Frederick W., 88. 
Babcock, Henry H., 85. 
Babcock, Herbert P., 87. 
Babcock, Jesse, 93. 
Babcock, Joshua A., 85. 
Babcock, Lysander W., 89. 
Babcock, The Family, 81. 
Babcock, William A.. 90. 
Bagg, Samuel F., 156. 
Bagley, George A., 1324. 
Bailey, Henry 373. 
Bailey, Lyman, 778. 
Baker, Frank C., 65. 
Baker, Franklin L., 1062. 
Baker, Hart V., 1059. 
Baker, John L., 1060. 
Baker, Jonathan, 1057. 
Baker, Milon, 1004. 
Baker, The Family, 1057. 
Baker, Thomas, 1060. 
Balcom, Alexander F., 512. 
Ball, Arthur R.. 68. 
Ball, Edward, 69. 
Ball, Elihu, 63. 
Ball, Henry M., ^. 



Ball, John B., 71. 
Ball, John N., 73. 
Ball, Sinecy, 68. 
Ball, The Family, 62. 
Ball, William D., 68. 
Ball, Wooster O., 67. 
Barber, John L., 498. 
Barney, Hiram S., 425. 
Bent, George W., 276. 
Bent, Hartwell F., 645. 
Besha, Charles E., 926. 
Bibbins, Charles N., 11 19. 
Bibbins, Schuyler H., 1 1 17. 
Bibbins, The Family, 1 1 16. 
Bichet, Joseph V., 926. 
Bickelhaupt, Adam, 597. 
Bingham, The Family, 1292. 
Bingham, Wilbur F., 1295. 
Blanchard, James A., 1252. 
Boltz, Edward G.. 1256. 
Brabant, Joseph H., 1097. 
Bradford, Anna, 674. 
Bradford. Gilbert, 90S. 
Bradford, Mary, gi2. 
Bradley, Gordon C, 409. 
Brainard, Orville V., 1164. 
Brainard, The Family, 1 162. 
Branaugh, Edmund W., 1 171. 
Brazier, Joseph, 976. 
Brooks, Otis, 303. 
Brown, Aaron, J082. 
Brown, Bennett F., 1078. 
Brown, Ebenezer, 1075. 
Brown, Elon R., m77. 
Brown, Moses, 1081. 
Brown, Parley, 1076. 
Brown, The Family. 1073. 
Buchanan, Hiram M., 1151. 
Burdick, The Family, 152. 
Burnham, Nathaniel, 1121. 
Burnham, Nathaniel N., 1122. 
Burnham, Stephen, 1122. 
Burnham, The Family, 11 20. 
Burns, James W., 1138. 
Butterfield, Levi A., 1098. 
Butts, Charles E., 432. 

Cadwell, The Family. 1005. 
Calkins, Taylor E., 125. 
Calvin, Delano C, 1092. 



INDEX. 



Camp, Fred S., ig. 
Camp, George, 17. 
Camp, George V., 19. 
Camp. Talcott H., 17. 
Camp, The Family, 15. 
Camp. Walter B., 20. 
Camp, Walter H., 19. 
Cantwell, Patrick B., 1069. 
Carlisle, John N., 149. 
Carney, John JJ., 522. 
Carpenter, John M., 122T. 
Carpenter. The Family, 953- 
Carter, Andrew B., 52. 
Carter, Frederick C, 60. 
Carter. Herbert D., 1248. 
Carter, Lester. 58. 
Carter. Zina R., 1230. 
Chamberlain. Noah, 949. 
Chapin, Alfred, 484. 
Chapman, Eugene A., 1034. 
Clark. Alexander B., 647. 
Clark. Brayton S.. 293. 
Clark, Chauncey H., 1344- 
Clark. Jedediah H.. 1344- 
-^ Clark. The Family, I343. 

Clark, William, 1343- 
- Clarke, Charles E.. 802. 
Clarke, Henderson M., II77- 
Clarke, John, 800. 
demons, Calvin C, 134' ■ 

Cleveland, Mcrritt A., 1232. 
Cleveland. Milo L., 217. 

Cleveland. Stephen R., 216. 

Cleveland, The Family, 213. 

Cobb, George H., 550. 

Coe, George A., 1089. 

Cole, John D.. 722. 

Collins, The Family, 1086. 

Collins, Thomas, 535- 

Colon, William, 1223. 

Comstock. The Family. 747- 

Consanl. William H.. 848. 

Converse, Frank A., 602. 

Converse. James F., 600. 

Cook, Hial, 1 123. 

Cooper, Abraham. 612. 

Cooper, Howell, 613. 

Cooper, Miles, 372. 

Cooper, Nicoll J., 615. 

Cooper, The Family, 611. 

Copley, Alexander. 1068. 

Copley. The Family. 1064. 

Copp. John H.. 402. 

Cory. Curtis. 684. 

Cory, Curtis W., 924- 

Cory, George F., 926. 

Cornwall. Andrew, 255. 

Cornwall. Andrew C, 257. 

Cornwall, Charles W., 259. 

Cornwall. JIarvey A., 262. 

Cornwall, John I., 261. 

Cornwall. The Family. 253. 

Crandall, Jerry W., 1024. 



Crawe, J. Mortimer, 653. 

Davis, Cushman K., 759. 
Davis, Francis G., 1212. 
Davis, Francis W., 1311. 
Davis, Richard, 591. 
Davis, Thomas J., 592. 
Deane, Henry H., 265. 
Decker, James H.. 418. 
Decker, William H., 398. 
Delany, John T.. 219. 
De Long. Huldah P., 1008. 
Demarse, Virgil J., 1055. 
Dempster, Adelbert B., 636. 
Dcnison, Charles E., 918. 
Denison, The Family. 916. 
Denison, William A., 919. 
Devendorf, George A., 420. 
Dewey, Frank S.. 718. 
Dewey. The Family, 715. 
Dexter, Benjamin A., 1108. 
Dexter. Carolyn M., 1112. 
Dexter, Charles P., 1 116. 
Dexter, David, mo. 
Dexter. Everett A., iiii. 
Dexter, Frank A., 1109. 
Dexter, Henry C, III4- 
Dexter. Simeon. 11 13. 
Dexter, The Family, 1 107. 
Dillenback, Lewis S., 938- 
Dillin. Edwin, 180. 
Dolan, James, 1282. 
Douglas, Curtis N., 207. 
Douglas, Daniel C, 207. 
Douglas, John P.. 205. 
Dressor, George F.. 828. 
Dressor, The I'aniily, 824. 
Dunlap. Harlan P., 45o. 
Dunlap. Lyman H., 896. 
Durham. James JL, 1146. 

Fames, Elisha D., 970. 
Eames, Frederick W., 972. 
Eames. Thomas, 970. 
Earl. Guy C. 1170- 
Earl, Mrs. Mabel K., 1169. 
Earle, The Family. 389- 
Eggleston. George V., 1 197. 
Ellis. Charles A.. ii43- 
Ellis Richard. 836. 
Ellis, Thomas. 843. 
Ely, Adriel, 1216. 
Ely, Foster, 1217. 
Ely, Frederick G., 1218. 
Ely, Theodore N., 1219. 
Ely, The Family. 1215. 
Emery. William R., 1027. 
Emmons, Orson L., 327. 
Emmons. Ward N.. 1224. 
Emond, John F.. 278. 
Esselstyn, The Family, 920. 

Failing. Demster. 263. 
Fairbanks, George R., 50. 



INDEX. 



Fairbanks, The Family, 48. 
Farrar, The Family, 519. 
Farrar, VVihiam S., 521. 
Farwell. The Family, 1083. 
Field, Brayton A., 136. 
Field, The Family, 132. 
Fish, Albert, 1261. 
F'iske, Isaac H., ggi. 
Fitzgerald, William, 288. 
Flansbiirgh, Amasa M., 290. 
Fletcher, Frank A., 154. 
Flower, Anson R., 11. 
Flower, Frederick S., 13. 
Flower, George W., I. 
Flower, Nathan M., I. 
Flower, Roswell P., 8. 
Flynn, Patrick H., 493. 
Foley, Michael J., 1062. 
Folger, Howard S., 404. 
Ford, James W., 625. 
Ford, Mrs. J. Wallace, 625. 
Ford, Wayland F., 247. 
Forsyth, Charles 15., 209. 
Foster, D. G., 236. 
Foster, Jabez, 993. 
Fowkes, John T., 1150. 
Fowler, The Family, 691. 
Fox, Alfred, 854. 
Fox, Byron, 854. 
Fox, The Family, 365. 
Frame, Herbert J., 570. 
Freeman, William P., 394. 
Frink, Heman H., 113S. 
Fuller, Harrison, 790. 
Fulton. Caleb. 837. 
Fulton, Daniel, 838. 
Fulton, David, 843. 
Fulton, David (3), 838. 
Fulton, Elijah, 845. 
Fulton, Elisha F., 841. 
Fulton, Haskil B., 845. 
Fulton. James (2), 836. 
Fulton, Jesse, 839. 
Fulton, John C, 847. 
Fulton, Luke, 844. 
Fulton, Samuel, 842. 
F"ulton, Simeon, 840. 
Fulton, Thomas, 843. 
Fulton, Thomas E., 846. 
Fulton, The Family, 836. 

Galvin, James. 506. 
Gallup, The Family, 1243. 
Gamble, Charles W., 323. 
Gamble. John M., 323. 
Gamble, The Family, 322. 
Ganter, Constantine, 437. 
Gates, Cranson O., 766. 
Gates. Edward M., 984. 
Gazin. Charles A., 542. 
George, Silas L., 461. 
Gibson, The Family. 731. 
Gifford, Burt W., 307. 



Gifford, Stephen, 308. 
Gill, The F'amily, 677. 
Giltinan, Michael, 433. 
Gleason, IMichael, 894. 
Gonseth, John G., 569. 
Goodale, Addison W., 667. 
Goodale, Ruggles, 668. 
Goodenough, Ira, 1036. 
Goodenoiigh, Robert D., T030. 
Gordon, Frank J., 530. 
Gotham, Merritt D., 305. 
Gould, Alexander F., 453. 
Grafton, John G., 459. 
Granger, Alfred L., 8ig. 
Grant, Robert P., 572, 
Gray, Richard L., 351. 
Green, Willis H., 1165. 
Greene, The Family, 131S. 
Greenleaf, Louis C, 239. 
Gregory, Charles, 532. 
Grenell, Samuel B., 311. 
Grenell, William H., 1028. 

Hadcock, Benjamin, 798. 
Hadcock, George B., 799. 
Hadcock, The Family, 798. 
Hale, Algernon S., 1106. 
Hall, Alonzo P., 736. 
Hall, Frederick L., 488. 
Hall, Gaylord W., 272. 
Hall, John L., 738. 
Halpin, William H., 1323. 
Hamlin, Harriet A., 641. 
Hamlin, Horace, 641. 
Hamlin, The Family, 639. 
Hanchette, William D., 653. 
Harbottle, John G., 563. 
Harder, Anson, 649. 
Hardy, Charles C, 781. 
Hardy, Charles J., 244. 
Hardy, Phineas, 783. 
Hardy, Robert. 780. 
Hardy, The Family, 779. 
Harrington, Benjamin F., 178. 
Harris, Erastus. 1159. 
Hatch. George W., 510. 
Hatch, Henry. 794. 
Hawes, The Family, 990. 
Hawes, W. W., 988. 
Hawn, Lincoln G., 701. 
Hayes, Franklin P., 1298. 
Hemings, Frederick E., 514. 
Herrick, Osgood E., 727. 
Herring, William P., 165. 
Heyl, George, 248. 
Hinds, Franklin A., 182. 
Hinsdale, George, 618. 
Hinsdale, Ira, 618. 
Hinsdale, The Family, 617. 
Hitchcock, Robert. 415. 
Holden, Christopher A., 692. 
Holley, Marietta, 528. 
Holmes, Alfred A., 1237. 



INDEX. 



Holmes, Wallace W., 1240. 
Hotchkin, Walter B., 1049. 
Houghton, Almon H., 406. 
Houghton, Royal, 554. 
Howland, Eugene B., 301. 
Howland, Fred, 718. 
Howland, Herbert J., 299. 
Howland, Richmond, 300. 
Howland, William, 300. 
Hubbard, Alfred O., 1266. 
Hubbard, Cyrus, 1271. 
Hubbard, Dwight L., 1328. 
Hubbard, Edwin C, 1266. 
Hubbard, Fernando D., 1263. 
Hubbard, Joel, 1264. 
Hubbard, Levi, 1 169. 
Hubbard. Noadiah, 1338. 
Hubbard, Samuel 1271. 
Hull, C. J., 79- 
Hull, George E., 81. 
Hull. Philip, 76. 
Hull, The Family, 75. 
Hull, William P., 79- 
Hungerford, Edwin, 26. 
Hungerford, Elbert, 27. 
Hungerford. James M., 27. 
Hungerford, Orville, 32. 
Hungerford, Solon D., 28. 
Hungerford, The Family, 23. 
Hunt Isaac L., 595. 
Hunt, Theodore L., 429. 
Hunting, Stanley E., 237. 
Hutchins, Thomas M., 246. 

Ives, Fred S., 1003. 
Ives, Garrett, looi. 
Ives, Jotham, 1000. 
Ives, Lewis G., 1002. 
Ives, The Family, 999. 

Jabas, George F., 452. 
Jeffrey, Manuel, 1198. 
Johnson, James, 357. 
Johnson, Levi A., 834. 
Johnson, Orrin, 1259. 
Johnson, Solon H., 356. 
Johnson, Sherman W., 1261. 
Johnson, Warren W., 1257. 
Johnson. William, 834. 
Johnston, Simon G.. 338. 
Johnston, The Family, 988. 
Jones, James E., 500. 
Jones, John E., 393. 
Jones, John G., 1173. 

Keller, Charles A., 372. 
Keller, Frederick, 371. 
Keller, Paul, 372- 
Kelsey, Lorenzo T., 589. 
Kendall, Aldridge, 976. 
Kendall, Bird, 976. 
Kendall, Charles H.. 981. 
Kendall, Frank, 979. 



Kendall, The Family, 973. 
Kilby, Allen E., 936. 
Kimball, George B., 462. 
Kinne, Clarence E., 709. 
Kinne, The Family, 704. 
Kirby, Fred AL, 1185. 
Klock, Morgan, 223. 
Knowles, Russell K., 1272. 
Knowlton, George W., 174. 
Knowlton, George W., 177. 
Knowlton, John C, 175. 
Knowlton, The Family, 172. 

Laird, Alexander, 610. 
Laird, William D., 610. 
Lake, Christopher C, 1 194. 
Lamon, Francis (l), 804. 
Lamon, Francis (2), 805. 
Lamon, Francis R., 806. 
Lamon, John J., 804. 
Lanphear, Hiram K., 545. 
Lanphear, Nelson W., 548. 
Larmon, Alexander, 368. 
Leak, Henry B., 221. 
Lee, Morris E., 664. 
Lester, Edwin. 370, 
Lewis, Augustus P., 113. 
Lewis, Eugene G., 109. 
Lewis, Henry H., III. 
Lewis, Myron, 113. 
Lewis, Stephen S., no. 
Lewis, The Family, 105. 
Lingenfelter. Charles, 1041. 
Lingenfelter. D. Flenry, 251. 
Lingenfelter. William H., 360. 
Littlefield. Calvin, 168. 
Loomis, Alvin, 884. 
Loomis, Ashley, 888. 
Loomis, Harvey, 892. 
Loomis, Horace, 892. 
Loomis, Horace A., 891. 
Loomis, John, 883. 
Loomis, Jonathan, 882. 
Loomis, Joseph, 893. 
Loomis, Manley. 888. 
Loomis, Otis, 885. 
Loomis. Samuel, 883. 
Loomis, Stoel W., 889. 
Loomis, Sylvester, 887. 
Loomis, The Family, 882. 
Loomis, Wilbur H., 891. 
Loomis, Wilbur H., 893. 
Lord, Chester S., 1284. 
Lord, Judah, 861. 
Lord. The Family. 860. 
Lowe, Alfred D., 118. 
Lowe, Frank D., 120. 
Lowe, Genealogy, 115. 
Lowe, John D.. 122. 
Lowrey. Orin H., 298. 
Lyman, Caleb N., 302. 
Lynd, George A., 328. 
Lyon, Daniel D., 898. 



INDEX. 



Maher, Michael C, iioo. 
Makepeace, Solomon, 1040. 
Mann, Newton B., 635. 
Manville. George P., 1321. 
Martin, John P., 1307. 
Martin, Michael, 561. 
Martin, William V., 563. 
Massey, Albert P., 812." 
Massey, Edward S., 811. 
Massey, Francis W. H.. 816. 
Massey, George B., 810. 
Massey, Hart, 810. 
Massey, Solon, 816. 
Massey, William P., 817. 
Mather, Seth, 1048. 
McAllaster, Francis, 674. 
McAllaster, The Family, 673. 
McBride, Ai, 227. 
McBride, Mrs. Ai, 230. 
McCartin, George S., 579. 
McConnell, Joseph A., 226. 
McCulloch, John W.. 435. 
McCumber, Milo, 267. 
McGinnis, Isaac, 686. 
McKinley, George H., 345. 
McKinstry, Willard D.. 379. 
McNitt, Frederick H., 559. 
McQuillan, Peter, 504. 
'Merrill, Erwin M., 97. 
Merrill, Ray W., 104. 
Merrill, Samuel L., 103. 
Merrill. The Family, 95. , 
Merriman. Clark G., loig. 
Metcalf, Albert H., 644. 
Millard, Philip, 619. 
Miller, John A., 928. 
Miller, William E., 212. 
Mills, .Antonio F., 1274. 
Minar, Elbridge G., 623. 
Mofifatt, Alexander C., 142. 
Mof¥att, Aqnilla, 142. 
Moffatt, David, 142. 
MofTatt, Edwin, 143. 
Moffett, Charles D., 140. 
MofTett, John F., 141. 
Moffett, The Family. 138. 
Monroe, Frederick. 1033. 
Montondo, Jerry N., 1 137. 
Moody, Harry A., 950. 
Moore, Andrew J., 1340. 
Moore, Robert M., 1250. 
Moore, William H., 187. 
Morse, George E., 347. 
Mullin. John, 741. 
Miillin, Joseph, 741. 
Mullin, Joseph, 742. 
Munson, The Family, 751. 
Murtha, Thomas, 11 54. 

Nill, John. 698. 
Nims, Livingston A., 1184. 
Norton. Hiram F., 330. 
Nott, Claude R., 1296. 



Norwood, William, 1063. 
Nugent, Edmund, 1202. 

Oakes, Rensselaer A., 144. 
Oakes, Robert P., 149. 
Oakes, Simeon, 147. 
O'Brien, Dennis, 539. 
O'Leary, John, 341. 
Olmstead, William S., 1 190. 
Olney, The Family, 599. 
O'Neill. Robert, 1273. 
Outterson. James A.. 955. 
Outtcrson, James T., 957. 

Parker, Addison B., 332.' 
Parker, Alexander, 1129. 
Parker, Clinton B., 1131. 
Parker. DeWitt L., 1134. 
Parker, Frank M., 710. 
Parker, Hippocratus, 712. 
Parker, James, 1125. 
Parker, James (2), 1126. 
Parker, Jeremiah, 712. 
Parker, John H., 1127. -— 
Parker, The Family, 1124. -• 
Parker, Virgil F., 1132. 
Parker, Winfield S.. 1 128. '" 
Parmelee, Charles L., 1300. 
Patch, Prescott, 274. 
Patch, William J., 1070. 
Peck, C. F., 1 174. 
Peck, Emerson, 1104. 
Peck, John. 1104. 
Peck, Joseph, 1 103. 
Peck, The Family, 1102. 
Penney, Frank D., 1023. 
Penniman, Guy, 809. 
Penniman, The Family. 807. 
Pennock, Emory J.. 580. 
Perry, Millard F., 932. 
Peterson, Frederick C, 281. 
Peterson, Nathaniel S., 279. 
Phelps, George B.. 482. 
Phelps, The Family, 478. 
Phillips, Horace A., 1234. 
Pierce, Charles E., 1214. 
Pierce, Frank D., 121 3. 
Pollard, William H., 655. 
Pool, David. 335. 
Pool, Sylvanus, 164. 
Porter, Charles G.. 726. 
Porter, The Family, 724. 
Porter. Will R., 1334. 
Potter, Benjamin F.. 321. 
Potter, Fannie M., 321. 
Potter, Harrison C, 638. 
Potter, The Family. 320. 
Potter. William A.. 714. 
Pratt, The Family, 1053. 
Prentice, Alfred C. 1317. 
Prentice, Henry W., 1317. 
Prentice, The Family, 1312. 



INDEX. 



Prindle, Osbcrt S., 656. 
Pringle, James, 933. 
Powers, Isaac P., 740. 
Purcell, Henry, 233. 

Quencer, Albert B., 1290. 
Quencer, John J., 1291. 
Qiieiicer, The Family, 1287. 
Quencer, William J., 1289. 
Quinn, Frederick J., 363. 

Radigan, Joseph H., 1249. 
Randall, Nelson W., 112. 
Rea, Peter, 928. 
Redway, John S., 603. 
Reader, Charles J., 526. 
Rees, William H., 1181. 
Remington, Alfred D., 914. 
Remington, Charles R., 915. 
Remington, The Family, 912. 
Rhodes, Orlo B., 231. 
Riley, Philip, 225. 
Roberts, Hugh, 540. 
Rockvvood, Dempster, 557. 
Root, Arthur C, 823. 
Root, The Family. 821. 
Rouse, Collins, 1088. 
Rouse, Daniel C, 1087. 
Rouse, The Family, 1087. 
Rouse, 'VV'illiam, 1088. 
Rugg, Martin, 1278. 
Ruggles, The Family, 6S2. 
Ryan, Stephen R., 1043. 
Ryder, Archie C, 996. 

Sacket, Cornelius T., 659. 
Sacket, Francis W., 1178. 
Sage, Elias, 880. 
Sandiforth, Lewis W., 1304. 
Sawyer, Azariah H., 446. 
Sawyer, Fred L.. 446. 
Sawyer, George, 447. 
Sawyer, Joseph W., 443. 
Sawyer, Laurentius T., 444. 
Sawyer, The Fainily, 440. 
Sawyer, Thomas, 440. 
Sawyer, William H., 445. 
Schmid, Nicholas, 515. 
Scott, Adelbert A., 1045. 
Scott, Henry, 858. 
Scott, Ross C, 859. 
Scott, The Family, 856. 
Searles, The Family, 377. 
Seaver, Alanson D., 167. 
Seeber, Walter, 359. 
Severance, Cyrus J., 633. 
Sewall, Edmund Q., 762. 
Sewall, Henry D., 764. 
Shaffer. Charles W., 508. 
Shelmidine, Jerome L., 696. 
Shelmidine, Ora L., 696. 
Shelmidine, William, 696. 
Sherman, Charles A., 45. 



Sherman, Charles N., 47. 
Sherman, George C, 46. 
Sherman, George C, 42. 
Sherman, The Family, 40. 
Sherman, Wooster, 1346. 
Shoecraft, Jacob, 366. 
Shoemaker, John, 325. 
Shortt, Edward G., 832. 
Sias, William H. H., 621. 
Sill, John S., 785. 
Simmons, Henrj' E., 496. 
Simpson, Alexander, 733. 
Simpson, James R., 733. 
Sims, Zelotus, 523. 
Sixbury, Robert, 929. 
Slater, The Family, 1199. 
Sloat, Charles W., 400. 
Sloat, Maitland B., 930. 
Smith, Mrs. Amelia M., 39. 
Smith, Betsey, 1089. 
Smith, Edward N., 39. 
Smith, Ezra, 172. 
Smith, Hannibal, 36. 
Smith, Henry, 172. 
Smith, Reuben, 172. 
Smith, The Family, 172. 
Smith, William H., 40. 
Snell. Albert G., 464. 
Snell, John A., 250. 
Sourwine, George, 1084. 
Spencer, Gordon P., 474. 

Spencer, Henry G. P., 475- 

Spencer, James D., 476. 

Spencer. The Family, 472. 
^ Spicer, Edward, 875. 
"' Spicer, Henry, 871. 
Spicer, Genealogy, 869. 

Sprague, Frederick, 1273. 

Spratt, John W., 586. 

Spratt, Joseph, 589. 

Starbuck, James F., 1022. 

Stearns, The Family, 1335. 

Stebbins, Jean R.. 1207. 

Stebbins, John C. 1209. 

Stebbins, The Family, 1205. 

Stebbins, William C, 1209. 

Sterling, Howard, 1281. 

Sterling, James, 1279. 

Sterling, James L., 1281. 

Sterling, John R., 1280. 

Sterling, The Family, 127S. 

Sternberg, Edwin G., 868. 

.Sternberg, The Family, 863. 

Stewart, Thomas N., 567. 

Stewart, Wayne, 391. 

Stoddard, Cephas R., 669. 

Stoddard, Levi R., 670. 

Stoddard, Levi W., 672. 

Stoel. Horace T., 662. 

Stone, Livingston, 626. 

Story, Frederick T., 657. 

Stowell, Fred, 664. 

Strecter, tlijah, 721. 



INDEX. 



Streeter, John C. 7JI. 
Streeter, Nelson W., 721. 
Strickland. William R., 292. 
Stiougli. Byron J., 126. 
Swan, Dewey, 283. 
Swan, ]\Iartin D., 284. 
Swan, Mason M., 283. 
Sylvester, Ira, 466. 

Taggart, Byron B., 162. 
Taggart, Henry, 162. 
Taggart, Henry W., 967. 
Taggart, Joseph B., 695. 
Taggart, Joseph W., 694. 
Taggart, William W., 967. 
Taylor, George A., 6S0. 
Taylor, J. A., 46S. 
Taylor, Perry D., 544. 
Taylor, Richard, 680. 
Thomas, Ira A., 376. 
Thomas, Lewis N.. 37C. 
Thomas, San ford S., 37S. 
Thomas, William, 375. 
Thomas, William H. S., 2,^^. 
Thompson, Albert, 289. 
Thompson, Arthnr J., 1227. 
Thompson, Edward H., 234. 
Thompson, John C, 985. 
Thompson, Myers, 1 189. 
Thomson, William M., 577. 
Todd, Enoch L., 162. 
Todd, Lewis E., 162. 
Todd, The Family, 161. 
Tolman, Angustus, 774. 
Tolman, Charles A., 775. 
Tolman, Ebenezer, 772. 
Tolman, Solon B., 776. 
Tolman, The Family, 771. 
Tolman. William, 775. 
Tolman, William O., 777. 
Treadwell, John H., 1175. 
Tremaine, Abner, 793. 
Tremaine, Solomon, 793. 
Tubbs, Alanson, 796. 
Tubbs, Jared C, 796. 
Twining, The Family, 1156. 

Underwood, William H., 689. 

Van Camp, David A., 124. 
Van Ostrand, Dexter, 969. 
Van Wormer, John R., 963. 
Villars. Edward, 502. 
Vinton, The Family, 770. 
Vrooman, Abraham, 537. 

Waldo, Jaram, 946. 
W"aldo, Jay W., 942. 
Waldo, Jonathan. 946. 
Waldo, William O., 947. 
Walker, David, 788. 
Walker, George S., 786. . ._ 



Walker, Sylvester, 787. 
Walts, Charles H., 735. 
Watertown Standard. The. 208 
Watson, Don A. D. M., 877. 
Watson, Lewis C, 851. 
Webster, Walter L., 1326. 
Weckesser, Frederick J.. 1226. 
Wetherbee, James E., 1167. 
Wetterhahn, Gustav G., 334. 
Whaling, John, 565. 
Wheeler, David H., 1021. 
Whitford, Nathan A., 1262. 
Whitford, Nathan G., 1 179. 
Wilder, Abel, 902. 
Wilder, J<'rank P., 907. 
Wilder, George J., 903. 
Wilder, Mark S., 906. 
Wilder, The Family, 900, 
Williams, Edward P., 386. 
Williams, Frank, 388. 
Williams, Frederick, 427. 
Williams, Frederick W., 387. 
Williams, Pardon C, 353. 
Williams, The Family, 380. 
Williams, William, 385. 
Wilson, Frank E., 318. 
Wilson, Samnel, 315. 
Wilson, Samnel (2), 319. 
Wilson, The Family, 314. 
Wilson, William H., 316. 
Willes, Jesse E., 960. 
Winslow, Bradley, 295. 
Winslow, Edward M., 1209. 
Winslow, John C, 297. 
Wise, James B., 158. 
Wise, Joseph, 158. 
Witt, Ervin W., 1 192. 
Wood, Amos E., 609. 
Wood, Ebenezer, 606. 
Wood, Gary H., 1345. 
Wood. George M., 605. 
Wood, Nathaniel (i), 605. 
Wood, Nathaniel (2), 607. 
Wood. Nathaniel (3), 608. 
Wood. Simeon T., 609. 
Woodruff. Florace W., 517. 
Woodruff. Lloyd O., 517. 
Woodruff, Norris M.. 641. 
Woodruff, Roswell, 641. 
Woolworth, Charles S., k;8. 
Woolworth, Elijah ]\t., 195. 
Woolworth, Frank W., 197. 
Woolworth, Fred W.. 200. 
Woolworth, Gilbert E., 191. 
Woolworth, John H., 196. 
Woolworth, Seymour A., 194. 
Woolworth, Smith T.. 191. 
Woofevorth. The Family, 188. 
WooAvorth. Volney, 193. 
Wrape, Patrick R., 490. 

York, Leslie C, 1332. 
Yousey, Peter, 486. 




y£^d:> 




^/^X-/^ 



V 



HISTORY 



OF 



JEFFERSON COUNTY 



COLONEL GEORGE WALTON FLOWER, the subject of the 
following memoir, was of English descent, his ancestors, known by the 
name Floier, holding large possessions in Devonshire at the time of 
the Conquest. One of the ancestors, Captain William Floier, was born 
near the city of Exeter in 1450 and accompanied the army of King 
Edward IV in the descent on France in 1490. He married Phillipa 
Crooke and became later a resident of Willston, Dorsetshire. Of his 
three sons, William, born 1530, married Elizabeth Kirk. 

L From this marriage descended Lamrock Flower, the progenitor 
of the American branch of the family. He was born in Whitwell, Rut- 
landshire, England. The date of his emigration is not known, but he 
settled in 16S5 at Hartford, Connecticut, where he died in 17 16. He 
was tlie father of eight children. 

n. Lamrock, the second child and eldest son of Lamrock ( i ) 
Flower, was born at Hartford, March 25, 1689. He had a daughter 
and a son. 

EL The son, Elijah, was born April 15, 17 17, at Hartford, where, 
in 1742, he married Abigail Seymour, by whom he had six children. 

IV. George Flower, son of Elijah, was born at Hartford, April 
26, 1760. He married Roxeline Crowe and soon after the birth of his 
son George moved to Oak Hill, Greene county, New York. He was 
the father of ten children. 

V. Nathan Munroe, the seventh child of George Flower, born at 
Oak Hill, December 14, 1796, was married in Springfield, New York, 



2 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

to Mary A. Bo3le, daughter of Philip Boyle, of Cherry Valley, New 
York. Mr. Boyle was a native of Ireland, coming to this country in 
his childhood, where in due time he engaged in extensive contract work, 
being one of the contractors of the first water works in New York city. 
After his death the family moved to Springfield, New York. Soon 
after his marriage Nathan M. Flower took up his residence in Theresa, 
this county, where he erected a cloth mill, and the business prospered 
under his intelligent management. For many years he was a justice of 
the peace at Theresa, and during his residence there one of the most 
active members of the Presl>yterian church. He died April 4, 1843, 
in his forty-seventh year. Of the nine children born to Nathan and 
Mary Ann Flower seven were living at the date of his untimely death, 
the eldest being but fifteen, the youngest, Anson R., having been born 
in June, 1843, two months after the death of his father. Mrs. Flbwer 
made a brave and successful struggle to rear her young family into 
meritorious manhood and womanhood. Her children were all born in 
Theresa. Caroline, the eldest, January 21, 1821 ; Roxaline, March 15, 
1826; Nathan Monroe, January 21, 1828; George Walton, August 5, 
1830; Orville Ranney, January 21, 1833; Roswell Pettibone, August 8, 
1835; Marcus, August 11, 1837; John Davison, April 16, 1839: and 
Anson Ranney, June 20, 1S43. 

VI. Colonel George W. Flower spent the first thirty years of his 
Hfe at Theresa. At the age of sixteen he left the district school and 
entered the employ of his brother-in-law, Silas L. George, who kept a 
country store. Later he established a mercantile business in his own 
name and in addition commenced the manufacture of butter tubs and 
cheese boxes. Always an ardent politician, he took an active part in 
the Fremont and Lincoln campaigns and, at the breaking out of the 
Civil war, at once recruited a company from among his schoolmates 
and acquaintances at Theresa, of which he was elected captain. 

Colonel Flower came to Watertown in 1865, with a splendid record 
as a soldier during the Civil war. At the commencement of the struggle 
he had laid aside important business interests, which were promising 
of a bright future, and left at home his j'oung wife with her babes, to 
take his place in the ranks of the nation's defenders. Having recruited 
what became in service Company C. Thirty-fifth Regiment, New York 
Volunteers, he was unanimously elected to the captaincy and led his men 
to the front. Dutv held him for a time to a season of inactivity at 
Falls Church and Falmouth, and this was an experience under which he 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 5 

chafed, for he vvas possessed of that intense patriotic spirit and restless- 
ness which, to use a phrase of General Sherman's, "marks the enter- 
prising soldier." He was soon, however, to engage in the arduous cam- 
paign under General McClellan, which culminated in the hard-fought 
battle of Antietam. In this engagement, in which his regiment suffered 
severely, he was disabled by a fragment of shell from one of the enemy's 
batteries. While at home on sick leave, his physical disability resulting 
from his wound and his desire to engage in a business by which he 
could provide for liis family, determined him to resign his commission. 
Of this a biographer and personal friend said : 

"He had then served nearly two years, had begun as a captain, and 
was yet a captain. He had seen other men, his inferiors in ability, in 
moral worth, in previous business conditions, and, in social standing, 
rise above him in rank, and as his own regiment had acceptable men in 
oflice, promotion there was imlikely. His ambition was unsatisfied, for 
he had every quality for making a good soldier and courageous com- 
mander. He resigned his captaincy and left the regiment, bearing with 
him the sincere respect and affectionate regard of all his comrades." 

The same authority speaks of his unfaltering courage, his fortitude 
under unexpected reverses, and his unfailing regard for the welfare of 
his men, adding, "He had a feeling heart, a high sense of soldierly honor 
and an undying faith that in the end all would come out right." 

Following his retirement from the army. Colonel Flower was con- 
nected with successful business enterprises prior to his removal to 
Watertown. There he soon won recognition as a valued citizen and an 
honorable business man, and his popularity became so pronounced that 
he was elected the first mayor of the city under the city charter in 1869, 
and re-elected. During his terms his administration was practical and 
progressive and, in this as in other positions, he was ever found 
worthy of any public trust reposed in him, and, while his energy and 
ambition sought the field of business activity rather than that of politics, 
he was nevertheless known as an unfaltering champion of the principles 
in which he believed and as one whose loyalty to duty was ever above 
question. 

Here he engaged in various mercantile pursuits, finally concentrat- 
ing his fine business qualification? in building operations. He put up 
two fine residence flats, built the Watertown & Sackett Harbor Rail- 
road and the State Arm.ory at Watertown. Owing to some oversight 
in the work of the architect, the last named building was erected at a 
serious financial loss. 



6 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

From the time of liis arrival in \Vatertown until his death, Colonel 
Flower continued to make that city his home, although his business in- 
terests frequently called him elsewhere. He became prominent as one 
of the enterprising railroad builders of the state and as a promoter of 
various internal improvements. He was also contractor for the retain- 
ing dam, that monumental work which holds back the \*ater supply 
of New York city. He handled mammoth enterprises with ability, 
building sections of the Chicago & North-Western Railway and New 
York and New England Railroad, and in the conduct of business affairs 
his judgment was rarely if ever at fault. 

On December i8, 1855, Colonel Flower was united in marriage 
with Miss Mary Elizabeth Putnam, born February i, 1836, in Auburn, 
New York, daughter of Lansing and Sarah Ann (Chrysler) Putnam. 
Since her husband's death she has continued to reside in Watertown. 
Their son, Frederick S. Flower, is a member of the firm of Flower & 
Company, New York city. Their daughter, Maiy Elizabeth, was born 
February 10, 1857, in Theresa, and was married October 2, 1879, to 
John Sterling Robinson, second son of Dr. Samuel M. and Maria B. 
Robinson, all of Watertown. One son was born to them January 23, 
1881, in Watertown, and named Anson Flower Robinson. His mar- 
riage took place October 22, 1902, in Watertown, the bride being Miss 
Marguerite Williams, daughter of Hon. Pardon C. Williams. (See 
Williams.) John Sterling Robinson died September 19, 1896. 

Colonel Flower, having contracted a serious cold, died of acute 
pneumonia in the Union Square Hotel of New York city, May 4, 1881. 
A friend of long standing said of him : "He was a lovable man, as 
shown in his respect and enduring affection for his parents; by his quick 
response in sympathy and material aid for anyone in distress, especially 
for those whom he knew in his youth. His affectionate regard and 
attention to his wife and children, and to the young wards who were 
placed in his charge, marked him as a man of fine sensibilities, possess- 
ing a high sense of personal responsibility." 

The following tribute to his memory comes from the survivors of 
his command, who were tenting on the old camp ground : 

"Washington, D. C, Dec. 9, 1903. 

"At a meeting of the members of Capt. George W. Flower's 

Company C. Thirty-fifth New York Volunteers, who now reside at or 

in the vicinity of Washington, D. C. and held at Falls Church, Va., on 

December 5, 1903, and when were present Robert Dewar, H. N. D. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 1 

Parker, Lewis Toole)', Lyman Ballard and John Jay Beardsley, the fol- 
lowing officers were chosen: Chairman, Comrade Parker; secretary, 
Comrade Beardsley. 

"The following motions were unanimously adopted : First, to send 
a mesage of respect and affection to the widow of our beloved first com- 
mander. Captain (afterward Colonel) George W. Flower. Comrades 
Beardsley and Ballard were appointed a committee to draft and forward 
such message. 

" 'Mrs. George IV. Flotcer, Watertoivm, N. Y.: 

'Dear Madam. — Referring to the above resolution which was 
unanimously adopted and most heartily approved, permit me to discharge 
the pleasant duty of expressing to you our respect and high esteem and 
of thanking you for the interest which you ever showed in the welfare 
of our dear old Company C. Of much that has been written as to the 
influence of women in the Civil war, perhaps the most positive was that 
of a war correspondent, who stated that "if the men of the south had 
been as determined as were the women the south could not have been 
conquered." Be that as it may or may not be, we credit you, and the 
mothers, wives and sisters of the members of our company with the 
most hearty, loving and loyal support, and we recall with feelings of 
pride and genuine reverence your visit to our camp, Falls Church. 

" 'Captain Flower was one of the first in our midst to catch a 
glimpse of the tremendous conflict which awaited us. To him belongs 
tlie credit of organizing the first company sent from Theresa, and which 
consisted largely of his neighbors and their sons, and by his energy and 
indomitable will, and early grasp of the idea of a true soldier, trans- 
formed alike the men taken from the plow and the office desk and from 
the school intO' efficient, active soldiers. Many of the company gave up 
their lives from disease contracted in the line of duty, from wounds 
and in the shock of battle. At Manassas, South Mountain, Antietam 
and Fredericksburg, their bodies are mingling with the soil of Virginia 
and Maryland. 

" ' "On Fame's eternal camping ground 
Their silent tents are spread, 
And glory guards with solemn sound 
The bivouac of the dead." 

" 'And now. Dear Madam, after forty years five of our (of your) 
old Company C have had a little reunion of our own at this historic place. 
We deeply regretted that you were not present. Old memories were 
revived, old acquaintances renewed, anecdote and camp stories, some 
grave, some gay, interspersed the evening, and we forgot for the time 
that we had reached the three-score mark. We find as we grow older 
that our memories revert more and more to our boyhood days, and 
among the most pleasant of the recollections of our soldier life are those 
of the time when we were under the command of your husband. Captain 



8 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Flower, the esteemed citizen, the courteous gentleman, the gallant 
officer. With best wishes for your health and happiness, we are 
" 'Very truly youi's, 

" 'John Jay Beardsley, 
" 'Lyman Ballard.' " 

VI. HON. ROSWELL P. FLOWER, one of the most masterly 
of the many brilliant statesmen who have adorned the high office of 
governor of the state of New York, was native born, his birthplace being 
Theresa, in Jefferson county, and the date August 8, 1835. He died at 
Eastport, Long Island, May 12, 1899. 

He came of an excellent ancestry from which he derived superb 
physical vigor and sterling principles, and he forged his own character 
in that white heat of poverty and necessity which consumes all dross 
and leaves a perfect metal. He was descended from that Lamrock 
Flower who came from Ireland and settled in Hartford, Connecticut, 
in 1685. 

Roswell Pettibone Flower, the fourth son and sixth child in the 
family of Nathan M. Flower, was left fatherless at the tender age of 
eight years. As a lad he worked at wool picking, in a brickyard and 
upon a farm. He attended school as he could, and was diligent in his 
studies as he was industrious in his labors, and graduated in the high 
school course when eighteen years old. He was for some time a teacher 
in a district school, acquitting himself most creditably and conquering 
the respect of his pupils when they were disposed to resent the authority 
of so young a master. He made his home with his sister's husband, 
Silas L. George, a merchant, who boarded him and paid him a monthly 
wage of five dollars for his services. He was afterwards a clerk in the 
postoffice at Watertown. He was closely economical and saving, and in 
a few years had accumulated a little fortune of a thousand dollars. This 
he invested in a jewelry and brokerage business which he successfully 
conducted until 1869, in which year he removed to New York city, 
having been made executor of the estate of his deceased brother-in-law, 
Henry Keep. In this important trust he displayed the finest executive 
and financial ability, and the estate quadrupled in value under his man- 
agement. In 1 87 1 he became a member of the banking and brokerage 
firm of Benedict, Flower & Company, from which he retired in 1875 
to become senior member of the banking firm of R. P. Flower & Com- 
pany. He was also officially connected with various corporations, and 
was a trustee and honorary vice president of the Colonial Trust Com- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 9 

pany, a trustee of the Metropolitan Trust Company, and a director in 
the Corn Exchange Bank, the National Surety Company, the United 
States Casualty Company, the People's Gas Light and Coke Company, 
of gas companies in Chicago, and of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific 
Railroad Company. He retained a home in his native village, with 
whose interests he never ceased to be actively and usefully identified. 

Governor Flower was during all his active career one of the most 
potential political figures in the state. A Democrat of the highest stamp 
of character and ability, he took an earnest part in support of Seymour 
and Blair in the presidential campaign of 1868. In 1876 he was fore- 
most as organizer of the initial movement which led to the nomination 
of Samuel J. Tilden for the presidency. At the succeeding election he 
was elected to the forty-seventh Congress from the eleventh New York 
district, defeating William Waldorf Astor. In 1882 he was presented 
as a candidate for the gubernatorial nomination, and in convention 
received 183 votes as against the same number for General William H. 
Slocum, and sixty-one for Grover Cleveland. At this juncture it became 
apparent that political necessity demanded a candidate from outside the 
city of New York, and Mr. Flower withdrew to make way for Mr. 
Cleveland, who was made the nominee and thus placed upon the highway 
which led him to the presidency. In the same year Mr. Flower was 
made chairman of the Democratic congressional committee. In 1883 
he declined a renomination to Congress, and two years later declined the 
nomination for the lieutenant governorship. In 1888 he was again 
elected to Congress, and the same year he was a delegate-at-large in the 
Democratic national convention at St. Louis which nominated Mr. Cleve- 
land for the presidency, and was chairman of the delegation from the 
state of New York. In the same year he was strongly urged to become 
a candidate for the lieutenant governorship, but declined for business 
reasons. In 1889 he was returned to Congress by a majority of more 
than 12,000. In 1892 he was prominently mentioned for the presi- 
dential nomination. In that year he was elected governor, receiving a 
majority of nearly 50,000 over Hon. J. Sloat Fassett. This fine tribute 
was due in large degree to confidence in his integrity, and his unselfish 
care for public interests as shown in every instance where a trust was 
committed to him. His administration was broadly practical and 
sagacious, and his every act was based upon conservative views and an 
accurate estimate of conditions and necessities. In Congress his con- 
duct was marked by the same high standards. While an ardent sup- 



10 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

porter of Democratic principles, lie would subordinate no public interest 
to partisan ends, and in whatever legislation he advocated or opposed 
his sole object was the promotion of the welfare of the country and the 
people. Once, when congratulated upon the excellence of his congres- 
sional record, he remarked that whatever of usefulness he had accom- 
plished was due to his constant endeavor to learn as much as any other, 
and, if possible, more, concerning whatever matter was entrusted to a 
committee of which he was a member. In the fifty-first Congress he 
made an enviable record in championship of a movement for the hold- 
ing of the Columbian Exposition of 1893 in New York city. He earn- 
estly opposed the McKinley tariff bill and the "force bill," as he did the 
attempt of the Farmers' Alliance to establish a system of sub-treasuries 
for the loaning of public funds on field crops, domestic animals, etc. 
He was a warm advocate of liberal but well guarded soldiers' pension 
legislation, of the election of postmasters by the people, and of the 
irrigation of the arid regions of the west. 

Governor Flower amassed a large fortune, estimated at about 
$25,000,000, and in its acquisition no taint of wrong-doing, either in 
personal or public life, ever attached to him. He was broadly philan- 
thropic, and for many years set apart one-tenth of his income for benevo- 
lences, and the sums thus distributed amounted to more than a million 
dollars. He built the Flower Surgical Hospital in New York city, and 
with Mrs. Flower he erected the St. Thomas Parish House in the same 
city, at Fifty-ninth and Sixtieth streets and Second avenue, for work 
among the poor. The inspiration for this noble benefaction is told in a 
memorial tablet bearing the following inscription : "Erected to God by 
Roswell P. Flower and Sarah M. Flower, in memory of their son, Henry 
Keep Flower." Mr. Flower also built, as a memorial to his parents, a 
Presbyterian church edifice at Theresa, New York, and he and his 
brother, Anson R. Flower, of New York city, erected Trinity Protestant 
Episcopal church at Watertown, New York. His givings to all manner 
of charitable and benevolent institutions are acounted for in previous 
references in this narrative. It is to be added that, while govey-nor of 
New York, in 1S93, there arose urgent necessity for the purchase^of Fire 
Island as a state quarantine station. There were no available public 
funds, and Governor Flower unhesitatingly advanced the amount needed, 
$210,000. That he was afterward reimbursed by act of the legislature 
in no way detracts from the merit of his act. 

Governor Flower was essentially a self-made man, and, in larger 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. H 

degree he was self-educated. He was a man of broad knowledge, not 
alone in the fields of finance and politics, but in literature and the arts. 
His city residence in Fifth avenue. New York, and his summer home at 
Watertown were boLh eloquent in their furnishings and contents of his 
refined tastes. His library was rich in the choicest of literature, particu- 
larly of Americana, and he was the owner of a large mass of valuable 
autographic relics of all the presidents of the United States from Wash- 
ington down to his own day. In recognition of his high attainments and 
signally useful public services Lawrence University in 1893 conferred 
upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. 

Governor Flower was married, in 1859, to Miss Sarah M. Wood- 
ruff, daughter of Norris M. WoodrufT, of Watertown, New York, a lady 
of beautiful character, who washer husband's active ally in all benevolent 
and charitable works. Three children were born to them, of whom a 
son and a daughter are deceased. The living child is Emma Gertrude, 
who is now the wife of J. B. Taylor, of Watertown, New York. 

VL ANSON RANNEY FLOWER. As a man of affairs and 
a philanthropist, Anson Ranney Flower belongs alike to New York city 
and to Watertown, but it is the latter place which claims him as a citizen 
and it is to this city, in which he makes his home, that he is bound by all 
the endearing ties of social and domestic life. He comes of English 
ancestry and belongs to a family which has given to the country an 
unusual number of useful and worthy citizens. 

Nathan Monroe Flower was an owner of a woolen mill at Theresa, 
Jefferson county, where the farmers of the neighborhood would bring 
their wool to have it carded and made into cloth. Mr. Flower was a 
prominent man in the community, holding for many years the office of 
justice of the peace, and serving as captain of militia. He was one of 
the founders of the Presbyterian church at Theresa. His wife was Mary 
Ann, daughter of Philip Boyle of Cherry Valley, New York. Mr. and 
Mrs. Flower were the parents of nine children, only two of whom are 
now living; Nathan M., who resides in California, and Anson Ranney, 
mentioned at length hereinafter. Mr. Flower (a sketch of whom appears 
elsewhere in this work), died in 1843, leaving behind him the memory 
of a benevolent. God-fearing man, highly respected and greatly beloved. 
He was survived more than a quarter of a century by his widow, whose 
death took place in 1869. 

Anson Ranney Flower, son of Nathan and Mary Ann (Boyle) 



12 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Flower, was born June 20, 1843, at Theresa, where he received his edu- 
cation in the common schools. After serving as a clerk in one of the 
stores of his native place, he went, at the age of seventeen, to Water- 
town, where he was employed in the dry goods store of Cadey and 
Mosher, and later obtained a position in the Watertown postoffice. In 
i(S6i he went to Washington as a clerk in a wholesale army supply 
store, remaining there throughout the Civil war. In 1865 he returned 
to Watertown, where his brother, Roswell P. Flower, who subsequently 
became Governor of New York, had established a jewelry business. For 
some years Mr. Flower was associated with his brother, and in 1877 went 
to New York as one of the firm of R. P. Flower and Company, bankers, 
his position being that of junior partner. When the senior partner was 
elected governor of the state, he retired as a general partner and the 
firm name changed to Flower and Company, with Anson R., John D. 
Flower and Frederick S. Flower as general partners, and Governor 
Flower as special partner, a connection which was maintained until 1899, 
when it was dissolved by the death of Governor Flower. Soon after this 
event Mr. A. R. Flower succeeded to the position of special partner. 
Upon the formation of the firm it at once assumed a leading position in 
Wall street, a position which has strengthened and extended with the 
lapse of time. It has been prominently identified with the Chicago and 
North-Western Railway, the Rock Island Railroad, the Chicago and 
Eastern Illinois Railroad, and a number of industrial enterprises. The 
members of this firm took a leading part in organizing the Federal Steel 
Company and the United States Steel Company. They also organized 
the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company by reorganizing the old Long 
Island Traction Company, thus absorbing all the surface and elevated 
lines in Brooklyn, except one. 

Mr. Flower is a director of the Colonial Trust Company, the Rock 
Island Company of New Jersey, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific 
Railroad Company, the Rock Island and Peoria Railroad Company, and 
the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company. He is also a member of the execu- 
tive committee of the last-named organization. He is a director in the 
Amalgamated ("opper Company, the Nassau Electric Railroad Company 
of Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Heights Railroad Company of Brooklyn, the 
International Paper Company and the Peoples Gas Company of Chicago. 
He is vice-president and director of the Watertown Gas Company and 
director of the H. H. Babcock Company, carriage manufacturers of 
Watertown. He is one of the trustees of the Watertown Cemetery 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 13 

Association and of the Henry Keep Home, of whicli latter institution he 
was one of the incorporators. Mr. Flower's works of charity, while 
wholly free from ostentation, are of uncommon magnitude. He makes 
it a habit to give one-tenth of his income yearly, although almost invaria- 
bly his benefactions exceed that amount. Two of the churches at Theresa 
and one at Evans Mills received from him gifts of $1,500 each, while to 
a church at Felts Mills he gave $500. He is one of the trustees of the 
Flower Hospital of New York city, which was built by Governor Roswell 
P. Flower at a cost of $30,000, and also president of the board of trustees 
of the New York Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital. Mr. 
Flower gave $25,000 toward the maintenance of this hospital and also 
bestowed on it a dispensary building which cost $23,500. He has given 
several thousand dollars to the VVatertown City Hospital and $6,000 to 
Stonywald Sanatorium in the Adirondacks. He is a director of the 
Watertown Savings Bank, and over and above all his public philan- 
thropies has assisted friends in the payment of mortgages and in various 
ways to an extent which will never be known save by himself. 

Mr. Flower is a member of the Metropolitan Democratic and Man- 
hattan clubs of New York city, the Ardsley Club, the Church Club, the 
City Midday, and member of the New York Stock Exchange. He is a 
vestrym.an of St. Thomas' Protestant Episcopal church and junior warden 
in Trinity church at Watertown. Thig beautiful church was built by 
Mr. Flower and his brother, Governor Roswell P. Flower, at a cost of 
$90,000. The former, in addition, contributed towards the erection 
of the parish house, the rectory costing $10,000. The melodious chime 
of bells and the new organ, each of which cost $5,000, were the gifts of 
Mr. Flower to this church, in which he has been for many years an active 
worker and to which he has given so many proofs of devotion. 

Mr. Flower married in 1870 Am.elia Laura, daughter of Henry H. 
Babcock of Watertown. This union was of short duration, being ter- 
minated in 1874 by the death of Mrs. Flower. On December 31, 1878, 
Mr. Flower married his sister-in-law, Ida May Babcock, who is active 
in church work and various benevolent organizations, being thoroughly 
in unison with her husband's kindliness of spirit and philanthropic devo- 
tion. Mr. and Mrs. Flower are without children. 

Vn. The name of Frederick Stanton Flower needs no introduc- 
tion in either New York or Watertown, occupying as it does a leading 
place in the business and social worlds of both cities. He is a son of 
Colonel George W. Flower, the story of whose eventful life, as well as 



14 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

the history of the distinguished family from which he sprang, is given 
elsewhere in this work. 

Frederick S. Flower was born February 8, 1858, in Theresa and re- 
ceived his education in the public schools of Watertown. He was after- 
ward employed in the jewelry business conducted by his uncles, Ros- 
well P. and Anson Ranney Flower, and subsequently assisted his father 
in mercantile business and in the management of railroads, including the 
Carthage, Sacketts Harbor & Watertown Railroad, and also some rail- 
roads in the west. Before attaining his majority Mr. Flower himself 
built four miles of the Chatfield branch of Winona and the St. Peter 
division of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. He afterward came 
to New York and entered the banking house of his uncle, Governor Ros- 
well P. Flower, with whom he was associated as business secretary. It 
was in 1878 that he came to New York and in 1884 he purchased a seat 
in the stock exchange and on the death of John D. Flower became head 
of the firm. He succeeded his uncle, Anson Ranney Flower, as director 
of the New York Air Brake Company and is a director of the Universal 
Gaslight Company of Chicago. He is one of the directors of the Lang- 
don Zinc Company of Missouri, the Evansville & Terre Haute Railroad 
Company and the Brooklyn Elevated Railroad. He is director and assist- 
ant treasurer of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad. He is a trustee 
of the Flower Hospital and is much engaged in works of charity. 

Mr. Flower is a member of numerous business arid benevolent or- 
ganizations and social bodies, as below enumerated, with rank in each : 

Director: Brooklyn Union Elevated Railroad Company, Chicago 
& Eastern Illinois Railroad Company, Evansville & Terre Haute Rail- 
road Company, Knickerbocker Telephone & Telegraph Company, Lang- 
don Zinc Company, New York Air Brake Company, and Universal Gas 
Company of Chicago. 

Trustee : Henry Keep Home, Flower Hospital, New York, New 
York Ophthalmic Hospital. 

Member: Adirondack League Club, American Geographical So- 
ciety, American Museum of Natural History, American Society for Pre- 
vention of Cruelty to Animals, Ardsley Club, Ardsley Yacht Club, 
Atlantic Yacht Club, Columbia Yacht Club, Country Club of Westchester 
County, Democratic Club, Jefferson County Fishing Club, Jefferson 
County Golf Club, Jefferson County Society of the City of New York, 
Long Island Country Club. Lotos Club, Manhattan Club, Metropolitan 
Club, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Military Order of the Lnyal Legion 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 15 

of the United States, Municipal Art Society, National Horse Show Asso- 
ciation, New England Society, New York Athletic CJub, New York 
Produce Exchange, New York Stock Exchange, New York Yacht Club, 
Pontiac Game Club, Racquet & Tennis Club, Riding Club, Stony Island 
Club, Union Club. 

Mr. Flower married, February i8, 1903, Hilda Katherine, daughter 
of Milton E. Clark, of Leavenworth, Kansas. Mrs. Flower possesses a 
fine soprano voice and has sung in two New York churches — the Madison 
Avenue Reformed and St. Mark's Protestant Episcopal. She has been 
celebrated as the prima donna of the Bostonians" Opera Company. 

CAMP. The Camp family is of English origin, and bore its coat 
of arms as early as 1597, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The founder 
of the American branch of the family was Nicholas Camp, who- immi- 
grated in 1630. Its representatives in Jefferson county have been among 
the most intelligent, upright and useful citizens. Their American an- 
cestors have distinguished themselves in civic affairs and in the war for 
independence. Among these, the names of Camp, Hale, Hitchcock, Hull 
and Talcott are the most prominent. 

(I) Nicholas Camp is found of record at Milford, Connecticut, in 
1639 and at Wethersfield in 1646. 

(II) John, son of Nicholas Camp, was of Hartford, and was born 
in 1639, and died in 17 10. He had four sons and a like number of 
daughters. 

(III) John Camp (2), second child and eldest son of John Camp 
(i), lived from 1675 to 1747, and had six children. 

(IV) John Camp (3), son of John Camp (2). outlived five wives 
and died at the age of eighty-four years, leaving three sons. 

(V) Elnathan Camp, second son of John Camp (3), died in 1807. 
He married Eunice Talcott, who lived from 1736 to 1804, and they had 
four sons and three daughters. Elnathan Camp was a captain and quar- 
termaster in the continental army. 

(VI) Talcott Camp, eldest son of Elnathan Camp, was born in 
1762, and died in 1832. He was nineteen years old, and a student at 
Yale when he left college and accompanied his father to the field, and was 
an active member of the Durham (Connecticut) Company and a com- 
missary officer. He was one of the pioneers of Utica, New York, where 
he settled in 1798. He was chosen president of the village upon its set- 
tlement, and continued as such until its incorporation, in 1809, and served 



Itj GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

the first three years as president of the incorporated village. He made 
the long journey on horseback to Fort Washington (now Cincinnati, 
Ohio), to locate land warrants granted for Revolutionary war service. 
The property thus located became valuable, but he lost most of his 
revenue from it through the dishonesty of a trusted agent there. His 
death was caused by cholera, which he contracted while heroically caring 
for victims of the dreadful pestilence. He was a gentleman of the old 
regime, and was held in high regard by many of the heroes of the war 
for independence, among his warmest friends being the famous sea cap^ 
tain, John Paul Jones. His wife, Nancy, was a daughter of Captain 
Jonathan Hale, who lost his life at Jamaica Plains, while on the way to 
the battle of Bunker Hill. Talcott and Nancy Camp had nine children. 

The Talcott family is traced to "The Worshipful Mr. John Talcott," 
of Hartford, who died in 1660. 

(H) Lieutenant John Talcott, son of John (i), died in 1688. By 
his second wife, Mary Cook, he had a son (HI), Hezekiah, who lived 
from 1686 to 1764. 

(IV) Eunice, daughter of Hezekiah Talcott, 1736-1804, married 
Elnathan Camp (of fifth generation, mentioned above), and was the 
mother of Talcott Camp. Nancy Hale, wife of the latter, was of the 
sixth generation from John Talcott, of Hartford (above mentioned). 

(H) Captain Samuel Talcott. son of John (i), graduated at 
Harvard in 1658, and died 1691. His wife was Hannah Holyoke. 

(III) Deacon Benjamin Talcott, son of Captain Samuel, 1674- 
1727, married Sarah Hollister. 

(IV) Sarah, daughter of Deacon Benjamin and Sarah Talcott, 
1699-1743, married Jonathan Hale. 

(V) Captain Jonathan Hale, son of Jonathan and Sarah (Talcott) 
Hale, 1718-1776, married Elizabeth Welles, and had seven daughters 
and four sons. The sixth child (one of twin sisters) Nancy, married 
Talcott Camp (one of twin brothers), as above related (see Camp VI). 

(I) Matthias Hitchcock, born 1610, came to these shores in 1639. 
His wife, Elizabeth, died in 1676. 

(II) John Hitchcock, son of Matthias, died in 1716. In 1670 he 
married Abigail Merriman, 1654-1739. 

(III) John, son of John (i) Hitchcock, born October 18, 1685, 
died 1760. He married, November 21, 1712, Mario (Martha) Munson, 
who died July i, 1739 (see Munson II). They had seven sons and two 
daughters. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 17 

(IV) Dan Hitchcock, son of John (2), and Martha Hitchcock, 
bom March 14, 1724, died in 1797. He was married August 17, 1743, 
to Esther Miles, of Cheshire, Connecticut. They had three sons and 
four daughters. 

(V) Eliakim, second son and child of Dan and Esther Hitchcock, 
1746-1830, married Ursula Hull, whose ancestry follows : 

(I) Richard Hull died in 1662. His son, 
(H) Doctor John Hull, 1640-1711, was the father of, 
(HI) Captain Joseph Hull, 1668-1744. He married, in 1691, 
Mary Nichols, who died in 1733. 

(IV) Caleb, son of Captain Joseph and Mary (Nichols) Hull, 
1695-17S8, married, in 1724, Marcy (Mercy) Benham. 

(V) Andrew Hull, son of Caleb and Marcy (Benham) Hull, 
1726-1774, married, in 1750, Lowly Cook, 1730-1785, daughter of Cap- 
tain Samuel and Hannah Cook. 

(VI) General Andrew Hull, 1758-1827, married, in 1781, Eliza- 
beth Atwater, of Cheshire, where he was a farmer and merchant. He 
served with distinction in the Revolutionary army. 

(VI) Ursula, daughter of Andrew and Lowly (Cook) Hull, was 
born November 10, 1760, and became the wife of Eliakim Hitchcock, 
and the mother of Mrs. George Camp (see Camp, VII). 

(Ill) Mario (Martha) Munson, wife of John Hitchcock (2), and 
mother of Dan Hitchcock, was of the third generation in America, a 
daughter of Samuel Munson (see Munson, II). 

(VII) George Camp, son of Talcott and Nancy (Hale) Camp, 
was born in the historic town of Glastonbury, Connecticut, August 8, 
1790. In the winter of 1816-17 he came to Sacketts Harbor, where he 
set up the first printing press and issued the first newspaper in the village 
and one which was noted in its day as a warm champion of federalistic 
doctrine, and at the same time as a vigorous exponent of local interests. 
His wife, Ehzabeth Hitchcock, daughter of Eliakim Hitchcock, a native 
of Connecticut, was reared in Utica, New York. She was a devout 
Christian, and active in church work. Elizabeth Camp was the mother 
of three sons— Talcott H., deceased, who was for forty years president 
of the Jefiferson County Bank ; George Hull Camp, who became a prom- 
inent manufacturer, and now resides in Marietta, Georgia ; and Colonel 
Walter B. Camp. 

(VIII) Talcott Hale Camp, of Watertown, now deceased, son of 
George and Elizabeth Camp, was. for about a half century actively identi- 



18 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

fied with the city, to which he afforded his aid in the inauguration. and 
conduct of many enterprises of enduring worth. 

Mr. Camp was born in Utica, New York, January 17, 18 16. He 
came of vigorous stock, and was so well preserved that when nearly 
eighty years of age he bore himself, in action and appearance, as though 
he were not more than sixty. While he was an infant, his father re- 
moved to Sacketts Harbor, and there the child was reared and educated- 
Attaining his majority, his ambition would not oermit him to remain in 
that place, whose business was declining, and, seeking a more promising 
field elsewhere, he eventually decided upon Watertown, where he located 
early in 1840. He at once opened a drug and paint store in rooms in 
the Paddock block, opposite the public square, and his business steadily 
developing bi^ought him considerable means, which he used to excellent 
advantage by judicious investments. This business ultimately came to 
the hands of Camp & Massey, the members of which firm were Mr. 
Camp's son, Walter H. Camp, and George B. Massey. 

From the time of his coming to Watertown until shortly before his 
death, Mr. Camp was numbered among the most enterprising promoters 
of community interests. He was among the earliest advocates of the 
railroad between Rome and Cape Vincent, and afforded to the project 
his intelligent service during many years. An aider in its building, in 
face of what at times appeared to be insurmountable obstacles, he never 
lost faith, and the successful consummation of the movement was largely 
due to his indomitable perseverance and determination. In 1863 he was 
elected to the directorate, and his term of sen-ice continued during the 
long period of twenty-five years, including seven years in the capacity of 
vice-president. The principal offices of the company were located in 
Watertown, and the financial affairs were committed in large degree to 
his care, and were administered with such masterly ability as tO' meet 
the cordial approval of all concerned. Mr. Camp was also for several 
years one of the trustees of the Watertown Steam Engine Company, 
which during his time and largely tlirough his instrumentality grew into 
a mammoth establishment, one of the most important of its kind in the 
United States. He was also interested in various other manufacturing 
enterprises, antl in the principal financial institutions in the city. For 
about thirty years he was a member of the board of trustees of the Jeffer- 
son County Savings Bank, and for several years before his death he was. 
its president. This institution is notable for the fact that every member 
ot the board of directors served without compensation, their only purpose 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 19 

being to provide a safe repositor}^ for the funds of depositors, with 
special reference to the needs of wage earners, many of whom derived 
their hvehhood from the shops in which Mr. Camp was interested as 
officer or stockholder. He had also been president of the Jefferson 
County Bank since 1S56, and he ever cherished a peculiar pride in it for 
its remarkable history and unshaken stability. It had been removed 
from Adams to Watertown as long ago as 1821, and in all its long 
career had never closed its doors for a single business day, and had safely 
withstood all panics, never failing to meet its obligations. 

From the time of his taking up his residence in Watertown, Mr. 
Camp had been a member of the First Presbyterian church, and a liberal 
contributor to its support and to the maintenance of its various objects 
of beneficence. Principal among these was the Black River Literary and 
Religious Institute, which was established under Presbyterian and Con- 
giegational auspices in 1837, for the purpose of affording academical 
advantages to the youth of both sexes, and for more than forty years 
Mr. Camp was an earnest and useful member of its board of trustees, and 
aided generously in its support. He was averse to political concerns, in 
the sense that he would not consent to become a candidate for pulJic 
position. He was, however, a citizen in the best sense of the word, and 
afforded a potent influence to the support of such measures and men 
as were approved by his conscience. In his personal life he was an ideal 
Christian gentleman, ever ready to meet the deserving poor and dis- 
tressed with words of aid and encouragement, and such substantial assist- 
ance as the case might demand. 

Mr. Camp was married, June 3, 1847, to Miss Ann Elizabeth Sewall, 
daughter of Henry D. Sewall. Mr. Sewall was a highly educated gen- 
tleman of the old school, who came to Watertown shortly after 1830, 
and became known as one of its most progressive citizens, becoming 
interested in various textile fabric manufacturing establishments. His 
home on SevPall's Island was noted for its hospitality, as he and his family 
were for their unaffected gentility and unusual intelligence (see Sewall). 

To Mr. and Mrs. Camp were born three sons : Fred Sewall, a cotton 
manufacturer in Norwich, Connecticut; Walter Hale Camp, long senior 
member of the firm of Camp & Massey, of Watertown, and George Van 
Santvoord Camp, both of the Jefferson County National Bank, Water- 
town. The mother of this family died on her forty-first wedding anni- 
versary, June 3. 1888. Mr. Camp passed away February 7, 1897, and a 
general expression of the community voiced deep regret at his departure. 



30 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

He was an aid to many individually, "a friend in need," a consoler in 
time of trouble and a ready helper in every worthy enterprise. 

(VIII) Walter Bicker Camp, third son of George and Elizabeth 
(Hitchcock) Camp, was born October i, 1822, at Sacketts Harbor. He 
there received a liberal academical education, and in his school days ac- 
quired a thirst for knowledge which made him an industrious student 
and a keen observer throughout his busy and eventful life. It is, how- 
ever, with his services in advancing community interests that we are prin- 
cipally interested. His loyalty to his native village, and his desire to 
promote its importance, amounted almost to a passion. The construc- 
tion of the first railway, that from Sacketts Harbor to Pierrepont Manor, 
enlisted his earnest endeavor. He was a liberal contributor to the con- 
struction fund, and for two years acted in the capacity of custodian and 
local director, and with an altogether disinterested spirit, as will presently 
be seen. 

His services during the Civil war were of great usefulness. Shortly 
after the outbreak of the Rebellion (October 17, 1861) he was chosen by 
Governor Morgan to command the military depot at Madison Barracks, 
Sacketts Harbor, and was commissioned as colonel upon the guberna- 
torial staff. The appointment came unsolicited, and was at first re- 
garded by many as little more than complimentary, but, as it transpired, 
it carried with it duties of a most arduous character. Taking charge 
immediately, Colonel Camp made a firm establishment for the depot, or- 
ganizing it upon such a basis as to make it an active center for recruiting 
and regimental organizations during the entire progress of the war. He 
had one company prepared for. duty at the front in the first twenty-four 
hours, and in eighteen days the Ninety-fourth Regiment New York Vol- 
unteers had completed its organization. On March 14, 1862, it was 
transported to Albany, Colonel Camp accompanying it. It was received 
with high pleasure by Governor Morgan, who made a call upon Colonel 
Camp, and paid him a high compliment, praising the regiment for its 
personnel and discipline, and expressing gratification that it had been 
recruited at an expense less by $20,000 than any similar body in the 
state, and that (unlike some others) instead of losing nearly thirty men, 
it showed a gain of two on leaving camp. Among other notable com- 
, mands organized at Sacketts Harbor was the Tenth Regiment Heavy 
Artillery, New York Volunteers, in which Colonel Camp took a deep 
interest, and was instrumental, as war committee for the town of Houns- 
field, in filling. After the war General William T. Sherman, then com- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 21 

manding the army, was disposed to abolish the post on account of the 
want of railway facilities for the transportation of troops. Colonel 
Camp was untiring in his efforts to prevent the abandonment of the 
depot, and at once set to work to secure the extension of the Utica 
& Black River Railroad to Sacketts Harbor. To this end he enlisted 
the interest of the towns on the projected route, and in 1873 the road 
was completed. During and after this period, various serious obstacles 
were encountered, but all were happily overcome. At one time, during 
the occupancy of the barracks under General Ayers, the north half 
of the officers' quarters was burned. General Sherman opposed an 
outlay for their rebuilding, but Colonel Camp enlisted the aid of Con- 
gressman Bagley, and a congressional appropriation of $.35,000 was 
secured and the loss was replaced. Again, Colonel- Camp presented 
to President Grant the desirability of maintaining the post, and the 
influence of that distinguished man worked a great change. Shortly 
afterward, General Sherman visited the post, with the Twelfth Regi- 
ment United States Infantry, under General O. B. Wilcox, and he 
expressed himself as highly gratified with the site and with its buildings,, 
and from that time Madison Barracks were well maintained, becoming 
among the most complete and desirable military reservations in the coun- 
try. In the accomplishment of the result, so dear to his heart, Colonel 
Camp was ever able to enlist the sympathy and influence of distingished 
military and naval othcers who, with him, appreciated not only the de- 
sirability of the situation for military reasons, but also out of sentimental 
considerations relating to its earlier civil and military history. 

Colonel Camp has otherwise been constantly industrious and signally 
successful in preserving the prestige of the historic locality of Sacketts 
Harbor. With others who cherished similar desires to his own, he aided, 
in 1885, i'l the formation of the Jefferson County Historical Society. 
He was then executor of the estate of the late Elisha Camp, from whose 
heirs he procured a deed of gift conveying to the society named and to 
the village of Sacketts Harbor, jointly, the old battle ground made 
famous during the war with Great Britain of 18 12. This tract, compris- 
ing several acres fronting on Black River bay, and upon which the re- 
mains of the ancient entrenchments are yet discernible, was dedicated 
the same year, with imposing ceremonies, under tire auspices of the Jef- 
ferson County Historical Society, and with a splendid company of par- 
ticipants, including the Twelfth Regiment, United States Infantry, the 
Sacketts Harbor Grand Army post, the civil authorities of the count\- and 



2-i GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

village, and representatives of various historical societies and localities 
from neighboring counties and from Canada. At the unveiling of the 
monument "To the Unknown Dead of the War of 1812," buried at 
Madison Barracks Cemetery, on Decoration day, 1S88, at the request 
of Colonel Richard A. Dodge, Eleventh Regiment Infantry, U. S. A., 
commander of the post, Colonel Camp delivered a historical address 
which was at once a comprehensive narrative of the conflict and a 
splendid tribute to those who were actors in it, as let witness a single 
eloquent sentence of his apostrophe : 

"Noble men ! and representatives of a race that possessed our land 
not only by contest, with brawn and brain, but with axe for the forest, a 
hand and heart for the schoolhouse, neighbor and church, and a flag for 
their country ; pioneering the future greatness of an empire for their chil- 
dren, as a result of their power and Heaven's gift." 

Colonel Camp was elected vice-president of the Jefiferson County 
Historical Society wheii it was organized, and served in that capacity 
until 1893, when he succeeded President Beman Brockway, deceased, 
and has been continued in the position to the present time. Colonel Camp 
has made a life-long study of the history of his county, particularly that 
relating to the aboriginal occupation, and he has made a choice collec- 
tion of Indian relics covering every department of tribal life, and has 
written many valuable papers upon topics covered by his investigation. 
These labors have given him a certain fame in antiquarian circles, and 
he has been brought into honored relationship with the Smithsonian In- 
stitution at Washington city, with various historical societies, and with 
distinguished men who have pursued similar lines of study. 

Colonel Camp has been identified with the Presbyterian church of 
Sackett's harbor from his childhood, and it has been constantly the ob- 
ject of his solicitude and generosity. In 1879 he built a handsome chapel 
which he presented to the society as a Christmas gift, and at a later day 
he expended his means and gave his personal care to the construction 
of a church tower for the reception of a chime of nine bells, the gift of 
Mrs. Marietta Pickering Hay, of Tarrytown. This gift was intended 
by the donor to be a memorial to her father. Captain Augustus Picker- 
ing, an old-time mariner, who commanded the first vessel that ever en- 
tered the port of Chicago. Another gift of Colonel Camp was so char- 
acteristic of the man that it need be here mentioned. Narration has been 
previously made of liis subscriptions to railroad construction. These 
were not made with expectation of direct return, and the unselfish mo- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 23 

tives which governed him in the matter are attested by the fact that, when 
the road was sold and returns were made to the subscribers of the build- 
ing fund, Colonel Camp donated his share to the Presbyterian Church 
Society as a fund in perpetuity for repairing the church edifice and for 
the purchase of books for the Sunday school library. 

Colonel Camp has never married, but he has for many years main- 
tained a splendid home. His place of residence is the mansion and 
grounds formerly owned and occupied by Commodore Melancthon T. 
Woolsey, which came to the Camp family in 1844. Here Colonel Camp 
has entertained his friends with a generous and refined hospitality, which 
affords a real significance to a phrase which he has ever held in honor : 
"Whatever we possess is doubly valuable when we are so fortunate as to 
share it with others." Possessed of genuine musical tastes and ability, 
his home is adorned with numerous beautiful instruments, upon one of 
which, particularly, the flute, he is an expert performer. He has trav- 
eled much, in Europe, as well as in America, and has collected many 
rare and interesting volumes, works of art and curios. Now in his 
eighty-second year, serene in recollections of a well spent life, which has 
been a benediction upon those within the sphere of his influence, he can 
well realize, in all its delightful fullness, the meaning of the poet's 
phrase : 

"My mind to me a kingdom is; 

Such perfect joy therein I find 

As far exceeds all earthly bliss 

That God or nature has assign'd." 

HUNGERFORD. This name belongs to one of the oldest families 
in America, and is borne by numerous residents of Jefferson county. It 
has been conspicuous in the annals of many states, and its representatives 
have participated in the development of civilization, as pioneers, patriots 
and in all lines of business and professional endeavor. 

(1) The family had for its first American ancestor Thomas Hun- 
gerford, an Englishman. He was presumably a mariner, for his name 
does not appear on any ship's list as a passenger. He was at Hartford, 
Connecticut, prior to 1639. The records of the colony do not show that 
he was an original proprietor to whom lands were divided in fee, but he 
acquired land of some proprietor or was granted "lottes to have onely 
at the towne's courtesie." He resided on what is now Main street, in 
the city of Hartford, and undoubtedly built the house in which he lived. 
Early in 1650 he sold his Hartford property and removed to New Lon- 



24 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

don, Connecticut, where he died in 1663. The inventory of his estate 
shows him to have been a husbandman. His first wife, whose name is 
unknown, bore him two children — Thomas (further referred to herein- 
after) and Sarah. Sarah was born in 1654, and married Lewis Hughes, 
of Lyme, Connecticut. The second wife of Thomas Hungerford was 
Hannah, daughter of Isaac Willey, of New London, and to them was 
born one child, Hannah, May i, 1659, who married a Ross or Rose, of 
Rhode Island. 

(II) Thomas, only son of Thomas Hungerford, was born in 
Hartford, 1647, and was presumably the first of the family name born 
in America. About 1688 he removed to Haddam, Connecticut, where 
(December 20, 1697) he was chosen collector, and at a town meeting 
(December 27, 1698) was chosen townsman and "sovaire." He was a 
farmer or nail-maker. His homestead was in the south part of the pres- 
ent town of East Haddam, about a half mile east of the Connecticut 
river, a quarter of a mile north of Lyme, his home standing at the cor- 
ner of the road, and the property was in the possession of his descend- 
ants as recently as 1839. He married, prior to June 6, 1671, Mary Gray, 
of Narragansett, Rhode Island. He died in January, 1713-14, aged 
about sixty-six years, and was buried in the first burial ground in the 
present town; a gravestone bearing the initials, "T. H.," is supposed to 
mark his grave. His wife survived him, but the date of her death is un- 
known. Their children were: i. Thomas M., of whom further. 2. 
John M., who married Deborah Spencer. 3. Green M., who married 
Jemima Richardson. 4. Elizabeth M., who married Joseph Gates. 5. 
Susannah M., who married Samuel Church. 6. Sarah M., who married 
Nathaniel Cone. 7. Mai7 M., who married Stephen Cone. 8. Easter 
M., who married Saumel Gates. 

(III) Thomas M., eldest child of Thomas and Mary (Gray) 
Hungerford, was born in New London, Connecticut, in 1670 or 1671, and 
died at East Haddam, Connecticut, in 1743. He married Elizabeth 
Smith, who bore him eight children: i. Hannah, born August ;6, 
1700, died 1781 : married (first) Samuel Ackley, Jr., and (second) David 
Gates. 2. Thomas, born July 11, 1702, died November 12, 1786; he 
married Margaret Stewart, who died February 16, 1787. 3. Benjamin, 
of whom further. 4. Elizabeth, born December 4, 1707, baptized April 
II, 1708. 5. David, probably born in 1710. baptized May 21, 1710, 

died about 1755 : he married Sarah . 6. Samuel, died in infancy. 

7. Jonathan, baptized April 17, 1715, died about 1771 ; he married Mar- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 25 

tha Wells. S. John, born March 4, 1718, baptized May 4, 1718, died 
December 15, 1787; he married his cousin, Deborah, daughter of John 
Hungerford. 

(IV) Benjamm, third child and second son of Thomas M. and 
Elizabeth (Smith) Hungerford, was born in East Haddam, Connecti- 
cut, December 15, 1705, baptized May 5, 1706. He hved in Millington 
Society, on land deeded to him by his father, adjoining that of his 
brother, David. Early in 1748 he removed to New Cambridge, in Farm- 
ington (now Bristol, Connecticut) and lived on what is now West 
street. He married, in 1730, his cousin Jemima, a daughter of Green 
Hungerford; they died, respectively, February i, 1790, and June i, 
1769; they were buried in the South burying ground at Bristol, Con- 
necticut, but there is no known grave mark left. They were the parents 
of eleven children: i. Prudence, born August 4, 1731, married Eleazor 
Gaylord, January 4, 1749, and died in July, 1804. 2. Mathew, born 
May, 1733, married Rachel Spencer. February 26, 1756, and died May, 
1809; they had eleven children. 3. Jemima, born May, 1735, died 
August, 1757. 4. Rachel, born May, 1737, died October 30, 1828, aged 
ninety-two, she married Jesse Gaylord, August 30, 1756. 5. Lydia, 
born June 5, 1739, died November 25, 1812, aged seventy-three years; 
she married Jabez Bacon, about 1759. 6. Benjamin, born May, 1741, 
died September 4, 1775; he married Kesia Walker. 7. Stephen, born 
May, 1743, died June 7, 1814, aged seventy-one. 8. Susanna, born 
July. 174.S, died July, 1771; she married Jonathan Pond. 9. Timothy, 
of whom further; 10. Jacob, born July 16, 1749, died June 23, 1812; 
he married Mary Newell, December 13, 1770. 11. Mary, born July, 
1751, died August 22, 1823, aged seventy-two years; she married Thomas 
Hart. 

(V) Timothy, ninth child and fourth son of Benjamin and Jemima 
(Hungerford) Hungerford, was born at the Millington homestead in 
East Haddam, Connecticut, April, 1747, and was baptized at the Milling- 
ton church, Connecticut, May 31, 1747. He lived (until about 1800) 
on land deeded to him by his father February 9, 1769, in Farmington, 
Connecticut, now Bristol. He then removed to Paris, Oneida county. 
New York, and in the spring of 1804 to Watertown, New York. He 
died December 5, 1827, in his eighty-first year. He was married at 
Bristol, January 21, 1772, by the Rev. Samuel Newell, to Hannah Hei- 
cox, who was born m 1749, and died September 28, 1827. in her seventy- 
ninth 3-err. They were the parents of seven children : i. Nancy, who 



26 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

married Josiah Bradnar, and died March i, 1843. -• Hannah, born 
September 13, 1777, ui Bristol, died October 16, 1826. in Watertown, 
v.liile the wife of Jabez Foster. 3. Anson, born September 21, 1779, 
died July 12, 1864, aged eighty-five years; he married Sarah P. Coe, 
in 1802. 4. Timothy, of whom further. 5. Lorrain, died May 10, 
1835; she married Daniel Brainard, 1806. 6. Dexter, lx)rn 1789, died 
March 2. 1854; he married Marrette Burr. 7. Orville, mentioned at 
length below. 

(VI) Timothy, fourth child and second son of Timothy and Han- 
nah (Heicox) Hungerford, was born in Bristol, October 16, 1781. 
About 1800 he removed with his father to Paris, Oneida county, New 
York. In the spring of 1804 he removed to Watertown, Jefferson county, 
New York, and afterward settled at Watertown Center, where he culti- 
vated a farm and kept an inn until his death, November 14, 1857. He 
married (first) Mary Richardson, born November 14, 1785, died August 
20, 184 1. Their children were George, Edwin, Truman, Mary, Jabez 
Foster, William and Mary Ann. His second wife was Nancy Atherton. 

(VII) Edwin, second of the five sons of Timothy and Mary (Rich- 
ardson) Hungerford, was born at Watertown Center, New York, April 
13, 1809, and died at Evans Mills. New York, August 5, 1891, aged 
eighty-two years and four months. He married (first), January 30, 
1829, Catherine Ferrel, who was born in 1810 and died in February, 
1835. September i, 1840, he married (second) Laura ]\I. Haskins, who 
was born April 17, 1817, and died February 3, 1863. The children of 
his first marriage were: i. Mary Ann, born October 16, 1830, mar- 
ried Portal Barney, of Henderson, New York, in December, 1852; he 
died in January, 1863, leavirfg children : Kate Louise, born November, 
1853; Daniel L., born February 26, 1856. 2. Sarah Ann, bom January 
16, 1832, died May 6, 1891. She married David Briant, of Le Ray, New 
York, in December. 1852, and to them was born Henry Elbert, in Sep- 
tember, 1855. 3. Elbert. 

By his second marriage Edwin Hungerford was the father of five 
children : i. Edwin Oscar, born at Evans Mills, July 5, 1841 : married 
Anna Cook. 2. Alice Adelaide, born at Evans Mills, September 10, 
1845; niarried Henry Morris. 3. Ella Jennie, born at Evans Mills, 
September 6, 1S47. 4. Lelia lone, born at Evans Mills, April 9, 1850; 
married Carleton Clifford, of Rochester, New York. 5. Arthur Eugene, 
born at Evans Mills, February 12, 1852: married Jennie B. Porter, of 
Lowville. New York. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 27 

(V'lII) Elbert, third child and second son of Edwin and Cathe- 
rine (Ferrel) Hungerford, was born March i6, 1834. He married, Au- 
gust 16, 1S59, Emily Frances Orr, of Pulaski, New York, who was born 
in Richland, Oswego county. New York, February 26, 1841, and they 
now (1904) reside at Evans Mills, New York. Ten children were born 
of this marriage: i. Elva E., born in Watertown, New York, June 21, 
1S60; married Walter Flowland, at Evans Mills, April 2, 1891. 2. Burt 
Orr, born July 4, 1861, died June 25, 1862. 3. James Montrose, of 
whom further. 4. Catherine Blanche, born at Le Ray, New York, De- 
cember 9, 1865, and married Stannard Butler, of Pottsdam, New 
York. 5. Lyla Frances, born July 5, 1867. 6. Stella Cor- 
nelia, born September 8, 1869, and married Fred Rowland, a supervisor 
of Rutland, New York. 7. Ferrel William, born August 11, 1874, died 
May 15, 1882. 8. Rexel Porter, born April 25, 1877, died May 12, 
1882. 9. Ruth Mabel, born November 8, 1882. 10. Frank Elbert, 
born February 26, 1886. 

(IX) James Montrose, third child and second son of Elbert and 
Emily Frances (Orr) Hungerford, was born at Le Ray, New York, 
June 26, 1863. He passed his early years at Evans Mills, where he began 
his education, which was completed in the high school in Watertown. 
He learned the trade of tinsmith, and afterward that of plumber. In 
1883 he located in Clayton, where he took the position of foreman in 
Atwood Brothers'' plumbing shops, and rendered most useful and accept- 
able service in that capacity for a period of five years. He then (in 1888) 
opened an establishment of his own, which he has conducted with grat- 
ifying success to the present time. One of the largest stores of its char- 
acter in this section, it is stocked with a full line of all goods found in 
a first-class hardware emporiiun, together with all materials needed for 
plumbing of the most serviceable and modern description. Mr. Hunger- 
ford is a member of the Congregational church, and in politics is a Re- 
publican. He is a member of Clayton Lodge of Odd Fellows. 

Mr. Hungerford married, March 26, 1890, at Clayton, Miss Irene 
Johnston, who was born in that place, a daughter of Simon G. Johnston, 
of whom a sketch appears elsewhere in this work. Of this marriage was 
born one child, Stanley G., horn in Clayton, May 29, 1896. 

(VI) Dexter, sixth child and third son of Timothy and Hannah 
(Heicox) Hungerford, was born in 1789, in Farmington, Connecticut, 
and died March 2, 1854, in Brownville. He was a farmer and hotel- 
keeper, and kept the old inn at Brownville many years. A lover of 



28 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

good horses, which he successfully reared, he \Yas among the original 
members of the Jefferson County Agricultural Society and always sup- 
ported it, as he did other progressive enterprises. He exemplified the 
business sagacity and industry which have ever been characteristics of 
the family, and was a successful man. His wife, Mariette Burr, was a 
member of the famous old American family, whose name has been per- 
petuated in this county by the \illage of Burrville. They had three 
sons and a daughtei". Elbert Valentine, the eldest, lived and died in 
Jefferson county. Solon D., the second, is mentioned at length herein- 
after. Delia became the wife of Harlow Ivimball and lived in Water- 
town, Chicago and California, her life ending in that State. Naman 
B. was many years connected with the Jeft'erson County Bank, and died 
in Watertown. 

GENERAL SOLON DEXTER HUXGERFORD, whose history 
is so intimately connected with that of Jefferson county, and especially 
of the town of Adams, belongs to a family whose genealogy can be traced 
for at least two centuries. Thomas Hungerford came from the parish 
of Shetford, England, thirty or forty miles from London, and went to 
Hartford, Connecticut, before the year 1639. Mention is made of a 
descendant of the same name in the Hartford State Records, and in look- 
ing over the American Archives we find that one John P. Hungerford 
was an officer in the Revolution, and member of congress from 1813 to 
18 1 7, and died at Turford, Virginia, at the age of seventy- four. 

At the head of the fifth generation we have Dexter Hungerford, 
who married Marietta Burr, to whom were born five children. The 
history of the Burr branch -of the family is a remarkable one, including 
the famous Aaron Burr, and other men of genius. 

The third of this family, S. D. Hungerford, was born March 12, 
1808. His earliest home was on a farm in Watertown. He entered the 
drygoods store of Air. Adriel Ely, at the age of fifteen, which proved 
a business discipline of great service in shaping his successful financial 
career. 

After remaining in this position for four years, he decided to pre- 
pare for a collegiate course, bul, upon the advice of his kinsman, Hon. 
Orville Hungerford, he took the position of bookkeeper in the Jefferson 
county bank for a vear. At the expiration of that time he was promoted 
to the position of teller, which office he held for eight years, when he 
was elected cashier of Lewis county bank, at Martinsburg. At the end 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 29 

of two years he was urged by his friend, Mr. Ely, and his uncle, Hon. 
Orville Hungerford, to go into banking on his own account, under the 
general banking law of 1838. 

Through the influence and at the urgent invitation of his friend, 
Robert B. Doxtater, and other leading citizens, he was induced to found 
an institution at Adams, Jefferson county, called Hungerford's bank, 
with a capital of $50,000, October 25, 1845, which he successfully con- 
ducted as an individual bank till September, 1853, when the capital was 
increased to $120,000, with the same name, and under a board of 
directors of which General Hungerford was president. The Banker's 
Magazine, after a notice warmly commending the management of the 
Hungerford National bank, as it became under the national banking 
law, mentions "a remarkable fact connected with the history of Hunger- 
ford's bank. It has never suspended specie payments during its exist- 
ence of upwards of twenty years, having honored every and all demands 
in coin until the advent of greenbacks, in 1861." 

Mr. Hungerford had no supei"ior in the successful management of 
this complicated business. For clearness of judgment, pleasing address, 
and, beyond all, honest and reliable financial management, he was 
equally remarkable. His love of agriculture was always intense, both 
for the pleasure it afforded and the beneficial influence upon his health, 
while it was intimately connected with his business operations. 

He was, for many years before his death, closely identified with the 
Jefferson county and New York State agricultural societies. For six- 
teen years he was on the executive board of the State society, and finally 
took the chair of president. His "Valley Park Farm" was one of the 
most beautiful in the state. On this he kept one of the best herds of 
thoroughbred Ayrshire cattle in the United States, and was largely 
engaged in importing and breeding these favorites; also "short-horns," 
Leicester sheep, and Yorkshire swine; and shortly before his death 
devoted much attention to rearing horses, having had a just apprecia- 
tion of this prince among animals. The Boston Cultivator, May, 1863, 
mentions a particularly fine group of cattle on the Hungerford estate. 

Railroad interests claimed a share of Mr. Hungerford's time and 
attention. His general enterprise found scope in this direction during 
the first attempts to connect the northern part of the state with the 
great thoroughfares and commercial centers. 

Both money, time and influence were always at command. In 1855 
he was elected a director of the Rome and Watertown railroad, at the 



30 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

earnest desire of such men as Philip Dater, of New York, and later of 
the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg railroad. He was complimented 
by the capitalists interested, for his substantial improvements in the 
management of the road. The sound judgment and integrity seen here, 
as in all other financial concerns, received a significant testimonial in 
an incident, one among many, gleaned from a private letter addressed 
to a personal friend by one for years bitterly prejudiced against Mr. 
Hungerford. In this the writer alludes to certain differences of opinion 
existing between Mr. Hungerford and himself, and states for. his motive 
for voting for the former's re-election, his "fearless" discharge of duty 
in a position where so much "knavery and dishonesty" exists. But a 
higher object than business enterprise and success was at Mr. Hunger- 
ford's heart. Since 1836, when engaged in banking, "the idea of estab- 
lishing a first-class educational institution in my native country has 
been very much on my mind," says Mr. Hungerford in reply to the 
question as to just when his attention was drawn to the greatest achieve- 
ment of his life, the founding of Hungerford Collegiate Institute, whose 
splendid position among the literary establishments of the land is a 
joy to his own heart and an honor to his native state. 

An attempt was made about the year 1855 to erect the proper build- 
ings and put the plan into operation, but owing to disagreement as to the 
site of the prospective edifice, the whole thing fell through for the time 
being. But in 1864. a large building, erected for hotel purposes, fell 
into Mr. Hungerford's hands; this he offered to donate to a board of 
trustees selected from the several neighboring churches, consisting of 
twenty-four, provided the citizens would raise an endowment fund of 
ten thousand dollars, the interest to be devoted to the payment of insur- 
ance, repairs, etc. The ofifer was accepted, a charter secured, and the 
institute put in successful operation for three years, when the building 
was burned down. Another site being obtained with the insurance 
money, avails of the old lot, and contributions to the amount of over 
eighty thousand dollars, the present structure was erected. 

At the opening of the first institute referred to, the exercises were 
of an unusually interesting character. Special trains were run to the 
village from neighboring places, General "Joe" Hooker being among 
the guests. These were welcomed by Rev. Mr. Hobart, in behalf of 
the trustees, and escorted I.)y the Watertown Cornet Band to Jackson 
Hall. After music and congratulatory addresses. Dr. Fisher, President 
of Hamilton College, delivered the inaugural address. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 31 

The school opened with one hundred and sixty students; and the 
promise given by its dawn was fulfilled in the years that followed, when 
it shed the light of an enlightening and refining influence over the sur- 
rounding country. A most interesting account of the dedication of the 
new and elegant liuilding erected subsequent to the fire is given by the 
press. We quote a few extracts : 

"On Wednesday, August 24. was consummated in Adams' the 
great public enterprise of the village and town. Its beginning and 
progress have been signalized by great liberality, clear foresight, excel= 
lent taste and judgment, and untiring energy. 

"The old institute building having been burnt some time ago, it 
was resolved to build a new one, and part of the means for the purpose 
was at hand. A commanding site was selected, a plan drafted with 
careful deliberation, and the structure commenced. The design was 
purposely for something superior and costly, — something not easy to 
excel as an educational institute. It was rightly believed that a way 
would be found to complete it when the money in possession should be 
exhausted. The work at length had to be stopped. Estimates called for 
two thousand five hundred dollars more, and how should it be raised?" 

Finally, after efforts in other directions, General Hungerford offered 
to double whatever sum might be raised, pledges were soon gained for 
fifteen thousand dollars, which, with the founder's generous offer, made 
thirty thousand dollars ; this, combined with the amount in the treasury, 
gave funds for a one hundred thousand dollar building. The elegant 
stone and brick building of to-day, with its admirable conveniences and 
great beauty, is the result. 

It is heated with steam and lighted by gas. Hot and cold water 
can be drawn in each story, and there are bathrooms for both the gen- 
tlemen's and ladies' divisions. In the library and main hall, etc., is 
beautiful inlaid flooring of white and dark wood alternating. 

At the dedication Rev. S. S. H. Greeley was the speaker of the day. 
He was followed by citizens and invited guests. General Hungerford, 
owing to previous illness, took no part in the exercises, but, after loud 
and renewed applause, came out of the ante-room in response to a call 
of the audience. He simply bowed and retired. 

Mr. Hungerford's military career dates back to the year 1835; 
when quite a young man he was commissioned aide-de-camp to the 
brigadier-general of the Fifty-fifth Brigade of Infantry. In 1853 he 
became captain of infantry in the Thirty-sixth Regiment, and brigadier- 



32 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

general of the Eighteenth Brigade of the Fourth Division of New York 
State Militia in 1859. In 1861, when the Rebellion broke out, General 
Hungerford, commanding the Sixteenth Brigade, and also commis- 
sioned to inspect volunteer companies, was loyal to his trust and untiring 
in his efiforts to co-operate with the government. He won the grateful 
recognition of the state and of his fellow citizens at home. 

Mr. Hungerford's political career was made by himself — a brief 
one, beyond his influence in connection with business and social rela- 
tions, and his prompt action when it was needed as a citizen. He was 
by nature and education of the conservative school in politics. This 
fact, along with his general popularity, was the cause of his nomination 
to Congress by the Coalitionists of the Twentieth district in 1866, when 
an effort was made to defeat the ruling party by a combination of all 
those dissatisfied with its measures. Mr. Hungerford declined the 
nomination in a letter which was consistent with his principles, dignified 
and loyal, an honor to his head and heart. 

But in no position has he been more honored and useful, although 
attracting less popular interest, than when president of the Jefferson 
County Bible Society, an office he held for many years. 

In his domestic relations Mr. Hungerford has been most happy. 
He married Miss Ann Huntington, of Watertown, who is still the light 
of a home blessed with a son who gives promise of worthily bearing the 
ancestral name. Mr. Hungerford has always, liberally and wisely, we 
believe, sustained the cause of religion in the community, and freely 
aided the church and parish of which he is a member. Neither he nor 
his friends claim for him exemption from human frailties and mistakes ; 
but his fellow-citizens of the town and county in which his life has been 
so far spent, will give him a place among the greatest benefactors of 
both. 

(VI) ORVILLE HUNGERFORD. One of the most distin- 
guished of the earlier settlers in the Black River country, Orville Hun- 
gerford's memory is held in honor for his lofty character marked with 
all the traits that distinguished the old-time gentleman, his broad intelli- 
gence and remarkable judgment, and his highly useful service in com- 
mercial life, and in community and state affairs. 

Mr. Hungerford was a native of Connecticut, born in Farmington, 
October 29, 1790. In 1804, when he was fourteen years of age, he ac- 
companied his father to Jefiferson county, New York. His was a life of 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 33 

industry and thrifty habits from the beginning. He had none of the 
advantages of a Hberal education, having only been privileged to attend 
the common schools of his neighborhood. In these, however, and by 
private study of such books as he could gain use of, he thoroughly 
grounded himself in the elementary branches of knowledge, and at the 
same time became so habituated to reading and observation that even as 
a young man he was liberally informed, and in mid-life his attainments 
would put to confusion many collegiates of the present day. Soon after 
his coming to the county he took employment in the store of Jabez Foster, 
at Burrville, which in 1808 was removed to Watertown. His duties be- 
gan in menial tasks, but all were cheerfully performed, and he gave to 
his work such diligent interest and conscientious care that he was ad- 
vanced from place to place until, after about seven years' service, and 
having attained his majority, he was received into partnership with his 
employer, under the firm name of Foster & Hungerford. Their business 
developed into the largest in all the region, the war of 1812 bringing to 
them a large governmental patronage in furnishing provisions and other 
supplies to the troops rendezvousing at Sacketts Harbor. In 1815 Mr. 
Hungerford, then twenty-five years of age, engaged in mercantile busi- 
ness upon his own account, and he continued in it with much success until 
1842. 

Mr. Hungerford abandoned mercantile pursuits in order to enter 
upon a career of larger usefulness. He was a principal factor in pro- 
moting the construction of the railroad from Rome to Cape Vincent, the 
most important imdertaking of that day, and the consummation of which 
enterprise contributed greatly to the development of the entire region in 
agricultural and industrial lines. Mr. Hungerford's success was not at- 
tained without great labor, patience and perseverance. At times the 
obstacles in his way appeared ^o be insurmountable, but his hopefulness 
and courage overbore all weariness and discouragement. He was elected 
first president of the railroad company, and held the position until his 
death. He was early identified with the Jefferson County Bank, was 
for many years a member of its directorate, and for a number of years 
previous to his death he was president. It is not too much to say that 
this institution, with its long record of honorable and successful man- 
agement, owed much to his personality. In this, as in all else in which 
he engaged, he was conservative yet enterprising, gifted with a prescience 
which was little less than remarkable, and unalterably honest to the last 
detail. He possessed the entire confidence of whatever body with which 



34 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

he was associated, and it seemed a matter of course that they should 
place him in the position of leader and follow to the fullest whatever pol- 
icy he might recommend. 

A Democrat in politics, Mr. Hungerford was, without his seeking it, 
conceded a position of leadership in his party, and was elected to con- 
gress in 1842, and re-elected in 1844. His conduct in that body was most 
praiseworthy. At the first session of his first term he was appointed on 
the committees on Revolutionary pensions and on accounts, two of the 
most important committees of that day, and his excellent abilities found 
recognition in his appointment to the chairmanship of the committee on 
ways and means in his second term. In the latter position he displayed 
to the best advantage his business sagacity and his courage in maintaining 
principles and policies which met the approval of his conscience. Having 
introduced into congress, as coming from his committee, what came to 
be known as the distinctively protective tariff of 1846, he aroused the 
antagonism of his soudiern colleagues in congress. They, desiring to 
secure the marketing abroad of the southern cotton product and to import 
free of duty the goods into which they were manufactured, were in- 
imical to Mr. Hungerford's bill, and used every influence to prevail 
upon him to modify its provisions to meet their desires. To this time 
they had been able to control the northern congressmen, but Mr. Hunger- 
ford was proof against their blandishments, their promises and their 
threats. He was even tendered the vice-presidential nomination if he 
would recede from his position, and modify his bill to suit southern re- 
quirements, but he was resolute, and his measure was enacted almost 
exactly as he had reported it. The southern leaders resented his heedless- 
ness of their wishes, at first by less courteousness of manner, and later by 
withdrawing from him entirely. His modesty and peacefulness of dispo- 
sition would not permit him to resent their conduct, but his subsequent 
indifference to public honors is, probably, ascribable to his experiences 
during this period. It is certain that had he desired it, and exerted him- 
self to the purpose, he could have been made either governor or senator. 

Mr. Hungerford's characteristics have been epitomized by a former 
writer (Mr. John A. Haddock) as combining all those excellencies which 
made Silas Wright, William L. Marcy and Thomas H. Benton famous, 
and he has been pronounced their equal in suavity, commanding pres- 
ence, knowledge of parliamentary law, sympathy for the country's toil- 
ers, and regard for the public weal. To descant upon what spirit he 
would have displayed, what power he would have wielded, had he lived to 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 35 

the civil war period, would offer a fruitful field. Certain it is that his in- 
tense patriotism and his knowledge of the character and desires of south- 
em politicians would have made him not only a stanch, but aggressive 
friend of the Union. 

Until his last days Mr. Hungerford exerted his influence for the 
best interests of his community and county. His benefactions to insti- 
tutions of learning and to organized charities were munificent, and many 
such received liberal endowments from his generosity. He took great 
mterest in the Jefferson County Agricultural Society and in the Jeffer- 
son County Bible Society, and was for several years president of that 
last named. He was one of the largest contributors to the building fund 
of the First Presbyterian church, whose house of worship was thus made 
possible. 

Mr. Hungerford died April 6, 185 1, after a brief illness, in his 
sixty-first year. The sad event was a public calamity, and meetings of 
the citizens of Watertown, of the officials of the Jefferson County Bank, 
of the railroad company, and of the various associations in which he had 
held membership, were held, to testify to their sorrow in his loss and to 
pay tribute to his memory. At the funeral service his pastor said ; "On 
account of his influence, and the important trusts which had been con- 
fided to his hands, being in the full maturity of his strength, his judg- 
ment ripened b}' experience and years, and his natural force unabated, 
I know of no one in the community whose death would have been re- 
garded as so great a calamity as his. The assembling of this great con- 
gregation, as a tribute of respect to his memory, shows how he was esti- 
mated. A prince has fallen in the midst of us." 

Mr. Hungerford was married, October 13, 1813, to Miss Betsy P. 
Stanley, daughter of George and Hannah (Porter) Stanley. She was 
born March 27, 1786, at Wethersfield, Connecticut, and died September 
17, 1861, having survived her husband a few months more than ten 
years. She was a woman of beautiful character and disposition, and an 
efficient cclaborer with her revered husband in all his benevolent works. 

Six children were given to Orville and Betsy P. (Stanley) Hun- 
gerford. Mary S., the eldest, became the wife of Adriel Ely, and died 
in Watertown. Marcus died here, leaving four children, of whom two 
survive, namely : Helen H., Mrs. George W. Mann, of Nyack, New 
York, and Jennie A., wife of Mr. Quesada, of New York city. Martha 
B. was the wife of Isaac Covert, of New York city and Port Washing- 
ton, New York, and left no issue. Richard E. died in Watertown. 



36 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Frances died, unmarried, in V.^aterto.n. where Orville passed his hfe. 
Grace is Mrs. George Seiple, of Watertown. 

HANNIBAL SMITH, a well known and popular educator and law. 
yer of Watertown, now deceased, was descended from some of the best 
European blood, and demonstrated in his career the value of good stock 
The first ancestor of whom his family have knowledge was an Insh lord 
residing in Dublin. He was a Protestant, and became involved m polit- 
ical difficulties which caused his removal to America prior to the revolu- 
tionarv war. He married in this country and settled in Vermont, where 
he and his son Samuel owned a township, on Onion river, near Mont- 

^^ '^Samuel Smith and his sister Rhoda were the only children of their 
parents He married Sarah Newall, and resided in Vermont. Durmg 
the war of 1812 he made a trip to Ohio, intehding to buy a farm there, 
but found what seemed an excellent opportunity to realize by carrying 
supplies to the American troops at New Orleans. He purchased a river 
boat and loaded it, and was never heard of. again after starting down 
the Ohio river. It is presumed that he was slain by Indians en route. 
These facts were learned by his mother and sister, who made the jour- 
ney from Vermont to Ohio in hopes of finding him. They returned to 
Vermont, where the widowed mother soon afterward died, her end be- 
ing hastened by the mysterious disappearance of her son. Samuel's 
window subsequently married a man named Clark. Samuel Smith's chil- 
dren were: Savillian, who died in 1887; Hannibal, who became a 
preacher and went to Auburn Theological Seminary to perfect himself, 
for his work, and was drowned in Owasco river and buried in the ceme- 
tery attached to the seminary; Almira, who married a Mr. Perkins; 
Julia, who became the wife of a Perkins, brother of Almira's husband; 
and Sarah, wife of Jerrid ^latteson, of Clayville, Oneida county. New 

York. 

Sarah Newall, who became the wife of Samuel Smith, was a daugh- 
ter of a merchant of Salem, Massachusetts, and was highly educated. 
The name is of English origin, but was early planted in this country. 
Mrs. Smith's father served in the battle of Bunker Hill, and during that 
engagement a son was born to him in a chamber near the battlefield, so 
near that the flash of the guns in the early morning of that engagement 
lighted the chamber. Savillian is a family name, and was bestowed upon 
its bearer by his paternal grandfather. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 37 

Savillian Smith was born November 22, 1807, in Waterford, Ver- 
mont, and married Louisa Chappeil, at Vermilion, Oswego county, New 
York, about 1S36. At tliat time he was twenty-nine years old, and his 
wife nineteen. The latter was born in April, 18 17, at Pompey Hill, New 
York. Their children were: Benjamin (died when six months old): 
Hannibal, mentioned at length hereinafter; Henry, born 1842, still 
living; Josephine, 1845, now living; Maria (died at the age of thirteen 
months); Eugene, 1853, died 1897; Gilbert, 1857, died 1898; and 
Louisa, died 1SS7. Louisa Chappeil was a daughter of Daniel Chappeil. 
Her motlier, who was tiie daughter of a revolutionary soldier, died when 
she was fourteen years old. Daniel Chappeil was the son of a revolu- 
tionary soldier, and came from Massachusetts on horseback to buy his 
farm in Pompey, carrying his money in saddlebags. His ancestors were 
English, and his daughter, Mrs. Savillian Smith, is said to have pos- 
sessed remarkable powers of divination. She was an earnest student of 
the Bible and an entertaining conversationalist. 

Hannibal Smith, second son and child of Savillian and Louisa 
(Chappeil) SmJth, was born November 29, 1839, in Vermilion, Oswego 
county. New York, and was three years old when his parents moved to 
Bridgewater, Oneida county. He early manifested a desire for learning 
and had excellent opportunity for primary training in the school near 
his home, which was a good one. In his seventeenth year he began prep- 
aration for college at West Winfield Seminary. When nineteen he was 
called from the seminary by the trustees of his home district to take the 
place of a teacher who had failed to manage the school successfully, and 
concluded the term with satisfaction to all. Nine of the pupils in attend- 
ance were older than himself. After further study at Cazenovia Sem- 
inary he entered Hamilton College, where his father had purchased for 
him a scholarship, in i860. On account of failing health he was com- 
pelled to abandon his studies for two years, and finally graduated in 1866 
with honors, being awarded the Pruyn medal and the Hawley medal for 
excellence in classical culture, and won the Plead prize as an orator. On 
this occasion he took for his subject, "Alexander Hamilton, as an Ex- 
pounder of the Constitution." He then entered the law department of 
the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he studied one year 
under the emment faculty of that institution, then including the accom- 
plished lawyer .'^nd teacher of law. Judge Cooley. In the spring term of 
1863, prior to re-entering Hamilton College, he taught the school at 
Ofiskany Falls, and in the autumn of 1867 he was appointed principal of 



38 



GENEALOGICAL AXD FAMILY HISTORY. 



the Little Falls Academy, carrying along his work with great credit to 
himself until the close of the school year, when he resigned to complete 
his law studies. Again repairing to Hamilton College, he received the 
degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1S70, and was at once admitted to the 
bar. In February of the same year he was called to be principal of the 
Watertown high school and superintendent of the city schools. At the 
end of the school year in 1874, he resigned to take up the practice of 
law, and formed a partnership with General Bradley Winslow, under 
the title of Winslow & Smith. This association was maintained three 
years, after which Mr. Smith entered upon a most successful individual 
practice, and so continued until he was joined by his son, Edward N. 
Smith, in 1892, under the style of Smith & Smith. 

Air. Smith was essentially a lawyer of the old school, deeply read 
not only in the law, but in the reasons for the law, and he held the 
loftiest ideas of the ethics of tlie jircfession, conducting his practice ac- 
cording to its moralities, with a sincere contempt for trickery and mere 
technicalities. While caring for the interests of a large and important 
clientele, he was also interested in various business enterprises, among 
which m.ay be mentioned the Taggart & Moffett Land Improvement 
Company, the Siouski Paper Company and the Standard Publishing 
Company, in each of which he was a director and the treasurer, and in 
the hardware firm of Al. Harbottle & Company. He was instrumental 
in organizing the first and last of these, and the Daily Standard is to- 
day one of his monuments. 

A man of great purity of character, and of commanding influence, 
Mr. Smith bore a full share in promoting community interests, especially 
along educational and religious lines. A communicant of the Presby- 
terian church, he adorned its roll of membership by the uprightness of 
his life and his loyalty to its support and the furtherance of its benevo- 
lent objects. In polities he was a Republican of the Lincoln school, of 
the ante-war days, and throughout his life he was an earnest and pecu- 
liarly forceful advocate of the principles of his party and wielded a po- 
tent influence in its councils in his district and state, sitting in many of 
it conventional bodies and frequently appearing upon the hustings. He 
was never an aspirant for office, and believed in the principle of the office 
seeking the man. He was a warm friend of education, and rendered 
excellent service on the city board of education for a period of fifteen 
years, from 1874 to 1889, durmg a portion of which time he was presi- 
dent of tlie board. W'licn he passed away December 17, 1899. the city 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 39 

and state lost a valuable citizen, and his departure was widely mourned. 

Mr. Smith was married September 13, 1866, immediately after his 
graduation from Hamilton College, to Miss Amelia Marsh, daughter 
of Eli and Elizabeth (Chard) Marsh, prominent citizens of Utica. Of 
this marriage were born three sons and two daughters. A proper no- 
tice of the eldest son, Edward N., forms a part of this work. The sec- 
ond, William Hannibal, is managing editor of the Watertown Daily 
Standard. The elder daughter, Elizabeth Chard, is a graduate of Vas- 
sar College, and is now the wife of Frank A. Gallup, editor of the Daily 
Standard. The younger daughter, Amelia Lydia, died nine weeks be- 
fore her father. The second son, Eli Marsh Smith, died October 7, 1884, 
in his fourteenth year. 

Edward N. Smith is the son of Hannibal and Amelia (Marsh) 
Smith, and was born at Little Ealls, Herkimer county. New York, No- 
vember 30, 1868. In 1870 his father came to Watertown and became 
principal of the Watertown high school and superintendent of the pub- 
lic schools. Since that time he has lived continuously in the city of Wa- 
tertown. He attended the common schools of the city and was gradu- 
ated from the Watertown high school in 1886, entered Hamilton Col- 
lege in the fall of that year and was graduated from that institution in 
the year 1890. He then commenced the study of law in his father's 
oirice and remained there one year, and then entered the Buffalo Law 
School, from which institution he was graduated on May 30, 1892. He 
was admitted to the bar at Buffalo in June, 1893, and then returned to 
Watertown and formed a copartnership with his father, under the style 
of Smith & Smith, and this continued until the death of his father in 
1899. In 1900 he formed a copartnership with George W. Reeves un- 
der the firm name and style of Smith & Reeves, with offices on Washing- 
ton street, Watertown, New York, which firm continues at the time of 
this publication. 

Mr. Smith is identified with business interests in the city. He is treas- 
urer of the Standard Publishing Company, publishers of the Watertown 
Daily and Semi-Weekly Standard; a member of the firm of E. N. Smith 
& Company, dealers in books and stationery ; secretary and treasurer of 
the Taggart & Moffett Land Improvement Company ; one of the direct- 
ors of the Watertown Carriage Company, and treasurer of the Water- 
town Chamber of Commerce. In 1898 he was appointed by the comp- 
troller of the United States receiver of the First National Bank of Car- 
thage, and so administered the affairs of that trust that there was paid 



40 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

to the creditors a dividend of ninety-nine and one-half per cent. 

Mr. Smith has been actively interested in politics and public affairs. 
In 1893-4 he was secretary of the Republican county committee and was 
chairman of the same during the years 1895-6. He was city attorney 
of Watertown for the years 1895 and 1896. 

He is a member of the First Presbyterian church, a member of the 
board of managers of the City Hospital, a member of the Union Club, 
Lincoln League, Corona Lodge No. 705, Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows, Watertown Lodge No. 49 of Masonic fraternity, and Crotona 
Lodge, Knights of Pythias. 

In January, 1894, Mr. Smith married Alice L. Powers, daughter 
of Isaac P. Powers, and they have one child, named Powers C. Smith. 

William Hannibal Smith was born July 26, 1877, in W'atertown, 
and graduated from the city high school in 1S94, and from Hamilton 
College in 1899. After reading law a short time in his father's office 
he began reporting for the Daily Standard, and has been actively con- 
nected with that journal since. He was a reporter a little less than two 
years, when he became managing editor, and has since so continued. 
He IS a member of two college fraternities, Psi Upsilon and Phi Beta 
Kappa, and of Watertown Lodge No. 49, Free and Accepted Masons. 
He attends the First Presbyterian church, and is a steadfast Republican 
in political principle. 

Mr. Smith was married, October 8, 1903, to ]Miss Sarah Marie Coyle, 
a native of Watertown, daughter of William and Sarah Coyle, of Water- 
town. 

THE SHERMAN FAMILY. The Shermans are of German 
origin. In the fatherland the name Schurman often occurs, and was 
transferred many centuries ago to the vicinity of London. From this 
stock a scion was transplanted to Dedham, Essex county, England. In 
New England are found two distinct families, bearing the name of Sher- 
man, One family descends from William Sherman, who came from 
England to Plymouth with the Puritan Fathers about 1630, and settled 
in ?klarshfield, Massachusetts, where his descendants still reside. The 
other family is the Dedham stock, which settled in the vicinity of Boston, 
Massachusetts, from which the Watertown Shermans are descended. 

(I) The first one of Vvhoni v.e have any knowledge was Henry 
Sherman, of Dedham, Essex county, England, who died in 1589. His 
wife's name was Agnes, and she died in 1580. They left five children. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 41 

(II) Henry, eldest son of Henry and Agnes Sherman, married 
Susan Hills, in Dedham, England, by whom he had eight sons and two 
daughters, and he died in 1610. 

(III) Edmond Sherman, the fourth child of Henry and Susan 
Sherman, was born June 23, 1595, in Dedham, England, and was twice 
married. His first wife's name was Joan ; later he married Judith An- 
giers. They came to America about 1634, and settled in Watertown, 
Massachusetts. Thence they removed to Wethersfield, Connecticut, and 
finally to New Haven, Connecticut, where they died, the husband in 
1641, leaving five sons and three daughters. 

(IV) Rev. John Sherman, the seventh child of Edmond Sherman, 
was born m Dedham, England, in 1620, and came to America with his 
parents in 1634, remained a short time in Watertown, Massachusetts, 
and then went to Wethersfield, Connecticut. He returned to Watertown,. 
Massachusetts, and was made pastor of the church, November 8, 1647, 
and remained there and preached until his death, August 8, 1685. He 
was one of the learned men of his day, and was an eloquent preacher. 
He was distinguished as a mathematician and lecturer at Harvard Col- 
lege, and published several almanacs. He was twice married. By his 
first wife, Abigail, he had six children. He married, second, Mary Lan- 
nor, a granddaughter of Thomas Davy, Earl of Rivers, by whom he had 
twenty children. 

(V) Rev. James Sherman, the third son of Rev. John Sherman 
and his first wife, was born at Milford. Connecticut, 1645. He was pas- 
tor of the congregational church at Sudbury, Massachusetts, from 1677 
to 1705. He removed to Elizabeth, New Jersey, in 1706, thence to Sa- 
lem, Massachusetts, in 1708, and lived there until his death, March 3, 
1718. He married Mary Walker, May 13, 1680. 

(VI) Captain John Sherman, born in Sudbury, Massachu- 
setts, November 20, 1683, was a teacher and subsequently a physician 
in Springfield, Massachusetts, and was a prominent man in the church 
and town. One of his descendants, Elijah Sherman, lived on the 
old homestead, and died there, October, 1886. Captain John Sherman 
was married to Abigail Wood Stone, November 9, 1703, and they had 
eight children. He died November 28, 1774, and his wife March 9, 
1772. 

(VII) Phineas Sherman, the fifth child of Captain John and Abi- 
gail Sherman, was born in Brimfield, Massachusetts, November 10, 1719. 
He married, December 12, 1738, Elizabeth Morgan, by whom he had 



42 GENEALOGICAL AXD FAMILY HISTORY. 

several children, and he died October i, i/QO- Hi? wife died August 2, 

^^"(VIII) Lemuel Sherman, the sixth child of Phineas and Elizabeth 
Sherman, was born September 14, I750, at Brimfield, Massachusetts. 
On June 18, 1773, he married Rose Blashfield, by whom he had seven 
children, and died September 25, 1789. 

(IX) Phineas Sherman, the eldest son of Lemuel and Rose Sher- 
man, was born at Brimfield, Massachusetts. He married Emma Thorn- 
ton, 'in Johnston, Rhode Island, December 24, 1797. She was born Au- 
gust 22, 1774, and died in Watertown, New York, at the home of her 
son, George C. Sherman, March 15, 1847. They had six children. 
Phineas Sherman removed soon after his marriage, in 1797, to Provi- 
dence, Rhode Island, where he was a merchant. He then removed to 
Norway, Herkimer county, New York, thence to Newport, New York, 
and in 1810 to Watertown, where he established and owned a paper mill 
upon the site now occupied by the paper mill of the Kno\ylton Brothers. 
He died of fever, March 22, 1813, aged forty years. 

(X) George Corlis Sherman, second son of Phineas and Amy 
Sherman, was bom December 14, 1799, at Providence, Rhode Island, 
and was a youth of but sixteen years when in 18 15 he came to Water- 
town and sought in this place the opportunity of earning a living. His 
financial resources were extremely limited, but he possessed strong pur- 
pose, determination and laudable ambition. After filling several tem- 
porary positions he secured employment in the office of David W. Buck- 
lin, a well known attorney practicing at the Jefferson county bar, who 
recognized his capability and his desire for advancement and permitted 
him to become a law student in the office. He applied himself diligently 
to the mastery of the principles of jurisprudence, and soon after his 
admission to the bar in 1823 was admitted to a partnership by his former 
preceptor, Mr. Bucklin, this relationship continuing until the removal 
from the county of the senior member of the firm. In 1833 Mr. Sher- 
man was appointed district attorney, and occupied the ofiice continu- 
ously until 1840. In the meantime his private practice grew steadily 
both in volume and importance. There is no calling in which success 
and advancement depend more largely upon individual merit, and Mr. 
Sherman's legal lore and his devotion to the interests of his clients won 
him distinction at a bar which numbered lawyers prominent in the ju- 
dicial annals of the state. In 1843 he was appointed one of the judges 
of the old court of common pleas and served upon the bench until 1847, 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. i3 

when the office was discontinued through legislative enactment. In the 
same year of his elevation to the bench he was elected to the state senate 
and served out his full term, but declined again to accept the nomina- 
tion. For some time he was associated in practice with his brother-in- 
law, the Hon. Robert Lansing, forming one of the strongest legal com- 
binations at that day, while their business far exceeded in extent any 
law firm in this part of the state. 

It was while Mr. Sherman was a member of this firm that the great 
banking house of Prime, Ward & King, of New York city, failed, en- 
tailing a heavy loss upon the Jefferson County Bank, of which Mr. Sher- 
man was a director, and of which he had long been counsel. There was 
then a law upon the statutory books known as the Stillwell act, by which 
any judgment creditor could bring an insolvent into open court and com- 
pel him under oath to tell all about his property, financial condition, etc. 
Under this strange law one of this firm of bankers was brought before 
a New York city judge, and Mr. Sherman was there to examine him. 
This was, perhaps, the first time he had had a chance to measure his 
powers with that of the lawyers practicing in the highest court of the 
state, but here, as elsewhere, he displayed his great legal ability and 
astonished the city lawyers by his knowledge of the law and his ability 
in applying it to the points in litigation. The fallen financier was only 
too glad to escape from Mr. Sherman's merciless questions by a partial 
restitution to the bank. He continued in active practice until about 
1848. In the meantime the development of his financial and invested 
interests was continually making heavier demands upon his time, and in 
the year mentioned he resolved to devote his entire attention to his prop- 
erty and banking affairs. He was one of the early purchasers of land in 
this portion of the state, buying a large tract in the northwestern part of 
the county for three dollars per acre. This he afterward sold in small 
divisions for eight dollars per acre. He did not deal very extensively in 
village property, but at one time owned nearly all of Beebee's Island, 
and he also built the family residence on Clinton street and the large 
bank building in Watertown. It was in 1838 that he beeame an active 
factor in financial interests here through the organization of the Water- 
town Bank & Loan Company. He was active in his management of the 
institution up to 1848, and after his retirement from the bar he gave 
his entire attention to his financial affairs, remaining at the head of the 
bank until his death on the 23d of April, 1863. His intense and well 



44 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

directed activity had in the meantime brought to him a handsome for- 
tune, which was equahy divided among his wife and five children. 

On the 3d of January, 1828, he had married Miss Mary Ann Hub- 
bard, the third daughter of Noadiah Hubbard, who was one of the pion- 
' eer settlers of the Black River district of Nev/ York and made his home 
in Champion. Their children were : Frances A., Mary H., George H., 
Robert L., Charles A. and Sarah M. In Haddock's "Growth of a Cen- 
tury" the following summary of the life and character of ^Ir. Sherman 
is o-iven, written by one who in early manhood had been a student in his 
office: 

"Mr. Sherman was a unique character. He was quite a lovable 
man, full of wit and humor, and running over with anecdote and rela- 
tion of personal experiences. All his students loved, admired and revered 
him. He was eminently democratic; easily approached by the humble, 
and only laughed at aristocratic pretension in another. He was of a pecu- 
liarly affectionate disposition ; his heart was always easily reached, a tear 
never far away when his sympathetic mind grasped any tale of sorrow, 
and his thoughts traveled quickly toward some scheme of relief. Though 
a man of wealth, and in daily contact with the highest and best of his 
contemporaries, he never forgot his humble birth, and the writer has 
seen the quick tear of sympathy come into the eyes as he told of his 
early struggles, his earnest efforts and of his triumphs as well. He was 
undoubtedly the ablest lawyer of his time. He had no superior in the 
examination of a witness. It was said that, under his rigid cross-exam- 
ination, no one could avoid telling the truth. His perceptions were quick 
and keen. He seemed to have an intuitive knowledge of the inner nature 
of men, and of their motives and habit of thought. He was not, in later 
years, so close a student among his books, for he depended largely upon 
his able partner, Mr. Lansing, for the preparation of cases, but when he 
came before a jury he was almost irresistible. He was then full of 
energy, exhibiting an exuberant flow of spirits that took quick posses- 
sion of the court and the jury, and he could make them laugh or cry as 
became his present mood. He had a power of mimicry the writer has 
never seen equaled off the stage. 

"Takmg him all in all— viewed in the light of his early struggles, 
his judicious use of every favoring gale of fortune, the solidity of his 
foundation in the law, the nobility and wonderful activity of his mind, 
tlie versatility of his unusual capacity, the power of his imagination and 
vet his readiness to handle material things, he appears to me now as a 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 45 

wonderful man, one whom society could ill spare. He possessed nearly 
every human excellence, and the writer drops a sincere tear of regret upon 
the tomb of one whose kindness to a poor boy in his office is recalled often 
and lovingly. He was a man fit to stand before kings. He was well 
appreciated, as he should have been. To one who knew him well, this 
tribute to his memory sounds much below what it deserves." 

(XI) Charles Augustus Sherman, son of Judge George C. Sher- 
man, was bom in Watertown in 1838, and after mastering the prelim- 
inary branches of learning in the public schools he was afforded the 
privilege of attending college, and in the mastery of difficult problems, 
of the classics, of philosophy and law he displayed marked facility. He 
began his preparation for the bar under the direction of his father, and 
later became a law student in Albany, where he was afterward admitted 
to practice. Subsequently he became a partner of John Lansing, whO' 
was a son of his father's partner. The strong intellectual powers of Mr. 
Sherman enabled him to readily grasp and master the intricate problems 
of the law. H's reasoning was cogent, his deductions logical and his 
presentation of a case was forcible, so that he never failed to make a 
strong impression upon the court or jury and seldom failed to gain the 
verdict desired. In his legal practice he was particularly successful in 
prosecuting the claims of those who were sufferers from losses upon the 
river resulting from the great flood of 1869. He had, moreover, a com- 
prehensive knowledge of all departments of the law, and court and jury 
listened to him with attention. He had the characteristics of an ideal 
follower of his calling, one who seeks to aid the court in obtaining jus- 
tice rather than to win a suit through the employment of any methods 
that receive the condemnation of the most capable and conscientious 
members of the bar. His attention in business was not confined wholly 
to the law, for he made investments in industrial and financial interests. 
For thirteen years, up to the time of his death, he was the president of the 
Watertown Steam Engine Company and acted as one of its directors 
from its organization. He was also a trustee of the Jefferson County 
Savings Bank, and a principal owner and director of the National Bank 
& Loan Company. 

Community interests received his earnest attention, and many move- 
ments and measures for the general good profited by his hearty co-opera- 
tion and substantial assistance. He held many positions of public trust 
and responsibility in Watertown, and from his youth up was regarded 
as a worthy citizen of this place. He was particularly well known be- 



46 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

cause of his activity in church work, and in this his mother and wife 
were his devoted co-lahorers. He held membership in Trinity church, 
and with untiring zeal aided in the promotion of its various activities 
that were instituted for the extension of its influence and for its substan- 
tial growth. At the time of his death, which occurred in Watertown, 
April 25, 1SS2. when he was about forty-two years of age, resolutions 
of respect were passed by various organizations with which he was con- 
nected, including the directors of the Jefferson County Savings Bank, 
and the trustees of the ^^'■atertown Steam Engine Company. In one of 
the church papers appeared the following: 

" By the death of Charles A. Sherman, Esq., of Watertown, our 
diocese loses a loyal, devoted and active friend and promoter of its best 
interests. He has for many years taken an active and prominent part 
in the proceedings of the convention, of the board of missions and of the 
standing committee, being always ready to serve the church at the cost 
of time and trouble, manifesting in these public relations the strong con- 
victions and warm feelings belonging to his nature, Init without bitter- 
ness or animosity in debate. His large family and many friends were 
only in part prepared for his departure by a lingering disease." 

j\Ir. Sherman was married, in 1861, to Miss Caroline Philippa Nor- 
ton, a daughter of Nathaniel and Caroline Norton, of Charlestown, 
Massachusetts. She is a lady of unusual refinement and of superior edu- 
cation, completing her studies by graduation in the Packer Collegiate 
Institute. To Mr. and Mrs. Sherman were born six children : George 
C. ; Caroline G., the wife of Henry Whittemore, of New York ; Erancis 
A.; Charles N., who is further mentioned in later paragraphs; Nathan- 
iel N., deceased; and Margaret A. The close companionship which 
arises from congeniality of taste and temperament made the marriage of 
Mr. and Mrs. Sherman largely an ideal one, and he found in her sym- 
pathy and encouragement the inspiration which often made his labors 
extremely effective in both business and church life and in citizenship. 
(XII) George C. Sherman, the eldest son of Charles A. and Caro- 
line (Norton) Sherman, was born July 25, 1862, and acquired his edu- 
cation in the public schools of Watertown. He entered upon his busi- 
ness career in the employ of the Watertown Steam Engine Company, 
of which his father was a director. From time to time he was advanced 
until he became assistant treasurer of the company. He also extended 
his operations to other fields of industrial acti\'ity. and in 1887 he was 
maile secretary antl treasurer of the Taggart Paper Company, a position 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. i7 

which he has since occupied, covering a period of seventeen years. He 
was also one of the organizers of the St. Regis Paper Company, and is 
its secretary and treasurer. In financial circles he has figured prom- 
inently, not alone because of his invested interests, but because of his 
keen discernment in matters of management and his progressive ideas 
as conrrolling factor in the institutions of which he is a representative. 
He has been the president of the National Bank & Loan Company of 
Watertown since 1897, and is a trustee of the Jefferson County Savings 
Bank. 

Deeply interested in the welfare of his native city and desirous of 
its progress along substantial lines of improvement, he has labored 
eftectively and untiringly for good government in municipal affairs and 
he has contributed generously to the support of many causes, which have 
for their object the public welfare. He holds membership with the Trin- 
ity Episcopal church, and is a popular club man, belonging to the Jeffer- 
son County Golf Club, to the New York Athletic Club, to the Hanover 
Club of Brooklyn, and the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained 
the Knight Templar degree of the York Rite and the thirty-second degree 
of the Scottish Rite. 

Mr. Sherman was married, November 17, 1886, to Miss Alice Lee 
Taggart, a daughter of William W. Taggart, and they have two chil- 
dren : Katharine Lee and Caroline Norton. 

(XH) Charles N. Sherman, the fourth child and third son of 
Charles A. and Caroline (Norton) Sherman, was born in Watertown, 
June 18, 1871, and following a course in the public schools he attended a 
military academy, and v/as graduated from the high school of Water- 
town with the class of 1888. His early business efforts were put forth 
in behalf of the Taggart Brothers Company, and Taggarts' Paper Com- 
pany, which he represented for seven years, acting a part of the time as 
assistant to his brother, George C. Sherman, and during the remainder 
of that period as a traveling representative of the house. He became 
familiar with the paper trade in its various departments, and thus well 
qualified by experience and judgment, he opened a store in 1894, in 
which he handled paper and pulp mill supplies. Success attended thai 
enterprise, which he conducted for some time and then sold. On the 
incorporation of the Brownville Iron Works, in 1897, he was elected 
secretary and treasurer, a position which he still holds, and thus became 
identified with another department of industrial activity in Jefferson 
county. He is also treasurer of the Carthage Machine Company, vice- 



48 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

president of the West End Paper Company, and a director of the Na- 
tional Bank & Loan Company. He has excellent ability as an organ- 
izer and a genius for detail work, and has already proved the value of his 
efforts and keen discernment in the management of large interests. 

Mr. Sherman was united in marriage to Miss Grace A. Stebbins, a 
daughter of J. R. Stebbins, president of the x\gricultural Insurance Com- 
pany of Watertown. Mr. and Mrs. Sherman are the parents of one child, 
Adelaide. In social circles they are vv'ell known, and Mr. Sherman holds 
membership in the Union Club of Watertown and in the New York Ath- 
letic Club. He is also chairman of the house committee of the City Hos- 
pital of Watertown, contributes liberally to its support, and is a generous 
advocate and co-operant factor in many important public enterprises. 

THE FAIRBANKS FAMILY. In the development of the mate- 
rial prosperity of Watertown in its early days, no man was more promi- 
nent than Jason Fairbanks. He sprang from a sturdy, long-lived and 
illustrious stock. 

Jonathan Fairbanks, the founder of the American branch of the 
family, emigrated from Sowerby, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, 
England, and settled in Boston in 1633. After residing there three 
years he moved to Dedham, and built the famous "Fairbanks House," 
the oldest house in New England, and possibly in the United States, 
which has been continuously occupied by lineal descendants of the family. 
Before leaving England Jonathan married Grace Lee, and of the three 
children born to him prior to his emigration, the oldest, (II) John, in- 
herited by will the Dedham mansion. In 1638 he was appointed, with 
John Rogers, to survey the Charles river. John married Sarah Fisk in 
1641. From this union there were born nine children, the seventh of 
whom, known later in life as (III) Deacon Joseph, born in 1656, in- 
herited part of the Fairbanks realty. He married, in 1683, Dorcas 

. But two children were born of this union, the youngest son, 

(IV) Joseph, Jr., born in 1687, keeping up the line of descent. He 
married Abigail Doane, and was the father of eight children. (V) 
Samuel, the sixth of these, born in 1728, married Mary Draper. He 
was a revolutionary soldier. The sixth child of this marriage was a 
man of more than ordinary parts. He was named for his father, Sam- 
uel, Jr. (VI) He served with distinction in the wars. His name ap- 
pears on the Lexington Alarm rolls as a private ; on the Coat rolls as a 
corporal. Later he obtained the rank of sergeant, and at the battle of 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 49 

Bunker Hill was captain. He was also captain of a company called out 
for the suppression of Shay's rebellion. Soon after the war of the Revo- 
lution he moved to Mendon, Massachusetts, and died there in 1826. 
Captain Samuel Fairbanks was thrice married. His first wife was Rachel 
Lovett, and the fifth of their six children was Jason Fairbanks. 

(VII) Born at Mendon, September 5, 1785, Jason Fairbanks, at 
the age of thirteen, turned his back on the paternal home. He went to 
Boston, where he served for a year as the boy of all work in a hotel. He 
then apprenticed himself to Jam.es Bragg, a saddler and harness maker 
of Connecticut, and with him, in 1802, moved to Newport, New York. 
At the close of his apprenticeship his employer sent him into "the Gen- 
esee country" to make some collections. After his return he visited the 
north country and made partial arrangements to settle at Ogdensburg. 
These falling through, he formed a co-partnership with Calvin Mc- 
Knight, and in 1808 opened a saddlery and harness business in the then 
village of Watertown, New York. This co-partnership was soon dis- 
solved, and another, also soon dissolved, was formed with John Smith, 
a practical workman from Connecticut, and tanning and shoe-making 
were added to the business. For the next forty or more years Jason 
Fairbanks was one of the most untiring business men of northern New 
York. He dealt in every species of merchandise in which there was 
even a seeming profit — pork, beef, butter, corn, salt — his transactions 
covering the northern and western counties of New York and the prov- 
inces of Canada. In addition he conducted a general store of dry goods, 
groceries and provisions, a carriage factory and an oil mill. In addition 
to his active business pursuits, Mr. Fairbanks was deputy marshall un- 
der Livingstone for twenty-four years; sheriff of the county from 1821 
to 1838. During the Patriot war he was keeper of the arsenal, and when 
the building was raided by the Patriots, and a quantity of state arms 
taken, under date of February, 1838, he offered a reward of two hun- 
dred and fifty dollars for the arresi of the offenders. His connection 
with what is known as the "Whittlesy affair," is too well known to need 
more than passing mention. In 1815 he, with Perley Keyes, became 
surety for Samuel Whittlesy, a brigade paymaster of militia. Whit- 
tlesy was a lawyer of fine ability, a member of the Congregational church, 
and a near neighbor of Mr. Fairbanks. He went to New York and 
received from the Merchants' Bank in that city $35,000 in one, two, 
three, five and ten dollar bills. At the instigation of his wife he appro- 
priated to his own use the funds, pretending he had been robbed while 



50 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

at Trenton, New York. His sureties, satisfied that Whittlesy was the 
thief, enticed him to an unfrequented pond, and after repeated duckings 
he confessed, and the money was recovered. 

Mr. Fairbanks died January lo, 1875, in his ninetieth year. No 
resident of Watertown was more truly honored than he. Of the more 
than five hundred apprentices that served under him, not one ever turned 
out a bad man, while many achieved illustrious careers. He was a man 
unique in his personality, holding in contempt all shams and sensations, 
refusing even in his old age to wear an overcoat or carry a cane, regard- 
ing them as marks of effeminacy. He was secretive only in his chari- 
ties, but frank and outspoken in all else, self-reliant in all his affairs, 
quick to come to conclusions, and equally swift in carrying them out. 
Conscious of his own rectitude, he cared nothing for public opinion. 
His humor was peculiar and inexhaustible, and hundreds of amusing in- 
cidents are related regarding him. 

In 181 5 Mr. Fairbanks married Mary Massey, the eldest child of 
Hart Massey, one of the first settlers of Watertown. She was born in 
Plymouth, Vermont, in 1796, coming to Watertown five years later. 
She possessed a loving and charming personality, and her long life of 
eighty-seven years was replete with good deeds. She was the mother 
of four sons, each one of far more than ordinary ability. (VHI) Samuel, 
the oldest, was born m Watertown in 1818. He graduated from Union 
College, Schenectady, in 1838, and from the latter date until 1852 was 
engaged in business in Watertown. In 1852 he went to Florida, taking 
up his residence at Jacksonville, where he developed an immense lum- 
ber business. At the breaking out of the Civil war he removed to Rich- 
mond, Virginia, and for four years held a commission as quartermaster 
in the Confederate service. At the close of the war, his mills having 
been burned, he returned to Florida and engaged in mercantile pursuits, 
which he abandoned in 1874. He was agent of the Bureau of Immigra- 
tion at the time of his death, which occurred suddenly while on a visit 
to his mother, in the place of his birth, September 25, 1881. He mar- 
ried, in Watertown, in 1842, the second daughter of William Smith, and 
was the father of a son and two daughters. Notwithstanding his busi- 
ness career, he was essentially a man of literary tastes, and a forcible 
writer on literary and political subjects, and was a frequent correspond- 
ent for the press. 

(VIII) George Rainsford Fairbanks, the second son, was born in 
Watertown, in 1820. He also graduated from Union College, in 1839. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 51 

He studied law with the Hon. Joseph MulHn, and in 1842, having been 
appointed clerk of the United States circuit of the Northern District of 
Florida, he took up his abode in that state, where he at once took a lead- 
ing part in public afYairs. In 1846 he was elected state senator, and dur- 
ing the Rebellion was a major in the Confederate army. At the close of 
the war he moved to Sewanee, Tennessee, where he was professor of his- 
tory in the University of the South, and one of the original members of 
the board of trustees. In 1880 he returned to Florida, locating at Fer- 
nandina, where he now resides and is editor of the Florida Weekly Mir- 
ror. He is an active member of the Episcopal church, representing it in 
all its conventions for more than half a century. In 1858 he published 
the "History and Antiquities of St. Augustine, Florida," and in 1871 a 
"History of Florida from Its Discovery by Ponce de Leon in 15 12 to 
the Close of the Florida War in 1842." The work is a valuable contri- 
bution to the historic literature of America. Major Fairbanks has been 
twice married. His first wife was Sarah C, daughter of Benjamin and 
Sarah Wright, of Adams, New York, by whom he had six children. 
Mrs. Fairbanks died at St. Augustine in 1858. In i860 he married Mrs. 
Susan, widow of Rev. Benjamin Wright, and daughter of John Beard, 
United States marshal of Florida, and for many years comptroller of 
the state. 

(VIII) The third son, Andrew Jackson Fairbanks, was born in 
Watertovvn, in 1826. In 1844 he graduated from the French College de 
Montreal (Sulpician), receiving the first three prizes delivered by the 
governor general of Canada, Sir Charles Metcalf, K. C. B. He en- 
gaged in business in Watertown and vicinity until 1851, when he went 
to Jacksonville, Florida, where he entered the employ of a large lumber 
company on the St. John river. Two years later he returned to Water- 
town, but from 1856 to 1862 he made his home in Florida. At the 
capture of Jacksonville by the forces of the United States, he once more 
returned to his boyhood's home, where he resided until his death, June 
19, 1898. Mr. Fairbanks was a man of rare intelligence, well read in 
literature, and profoundly interested in everything pertaining to the lo- 
cal history of his native city, his numerous works being filled with in- 
valuable data, much of which he contributed to the local histories. He 
married, in 1853, Mary Matilda, the eldest daughter of Nathaniel and 
Harriet (Hunt) Wiley. Nathaniel Wiley was born in Nashua, New 
Hampshire, July 19, 1796. He went to Boston, where he learned the 
machinist's trade. In 181 5 he moved to Watertown, New York, where 



52 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

he built the first machine shop. He was a man noted for his skill and 
ingenuity in the invention of mechanical appliances. He married Har- 
riet Hunt, born in western Oneida county, New York, in 1804. 

From the union of Andrew J. and Mary (Wiley) Fairbanks three 
children were born. The eldest, Harriet Bates, a resident of Water- 
town, is an acti\'e member of the Le Ray de Chaumont Chapter of the 
Daughters of the American Revolution, and has inherited in a rare de- 
gree the historic and literary tastes of her father and uncles. A second 
daughter, Abbie Crosby, married Charles H. Remington, one of the 
leadmg paper manufacturers of northern New York. Seven children 
have blessed this union. The youngest of the children of Andrew J., 
named George Andrew, was born January 4, 1869, married Ida May 
Heintzelman in 1894. They have two sons: Andrew Jason and Karl 
Joseph. George A. is a civil engineer, and was assistant engineer New 
York state department under E. A. Bond. 

(Vni; The fourth son of Jason Fairbanks, Jason M., was born 
at Watertown, in 1829. He graduated at Geneva (now Hobart) College 
in 1 85 1, and although admitted to practice as attorney and counsellor 
in the supreme court of New York, devoted his life to civil engineering 
and surveying. He retraced the western boundary of Arkansas from 
Fort Smith to Red river, ran the ninety-eighth meridian from the latter 
river to the Canadian river, and the parallel forming the north boundary 
of Oklahoma. He also ran the line between the Seminole and Creek 
Nations in the new country to which these tribes were transported, where 
he was in constant peril from wandering Comanches. He was assistant 
engineer in the public works of the state of New York under State En- 
gineer W. J. McAlpine. He never married, and died at Watertown in 
1894. 

ANDREW BION CARTER, president of the National Exchange 
Bank of Carthage, is a native of the county of Jefferson, and an offshoot 
of old New England stock. He was born June 23, 1857, near Great 
Bend, in the town of Champion, a son of Asa T. and Amanda (Cross) 
Carter. 

( I ) The first of this family of whom record has been found was 
Jacob Carter, who moved from Southold, Long Island, to Branford, 
Connecticut. He was married December 4. 1712, to Dorcas Tyler, 
who died in 1735-6. Their children were: Sarah, born February 4, 
1 714; Jacob, November 26. 1716: Abel, June 4, 1718. 




National Exchange Bank. Carthage, N. Y. 




Residence of A. Bion Carter. Carthage. N. Y. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 55 

(II) Jacob Carter married Mary, daughter of Stephen Barnes, 
and settled in the south part of Sotithington, Connecticut, where he 
died July 6, 1796. His wife died October 23, 1788, aged sixty-two 
years. They had eight children, namely: Jacob, born May r, 1745; 
Sarah, September 16, 1747; Stephen, July 11, 1749; Jonathan, May 
20, 1751; Ithiel, August i, 1753; Isaac, May 12, 1757; Levi, Septem- 
ber 23, 1762; Elihu, baptized March 18, 1759. All settled in Wolcott 
(which adjoins Southington), except the youngest, who remained in 
Southingion. 

(III) Jonathan Carter, son of Jacob (2) and Mary (Barnes) 
Carter, married, January 10, 1776, Abigail Moulthrop, and resided in 
Wolcott until 1803, when he moved to Champion, this county. His 
children were: Joel, born December 5, 1778; Ira, May 4, 1781 ; Asa, 
baptized July 4, 1784; and Eli, born October 5, 1786. The youngest 
died in 1805. The first two migrated to the West, and record of them 
is lost. 

(IV) Deacon Asa Carter, born November 13, 1776, son of 
Jonathan (3) and Abigail Carter, was nineteen years of age when he 
came with his parents to Jefiferson county. He was a successful farmer, 
and his farm was among those to receive one of the premiums donated 
by Leray to the Agricultural Society. Like his father before him, he 
was a deacon of the Presbyterian church. He married Roxana Root, 
who was born July 25, 1784, and died November 27, 1863. He died 
August 16, 1855. Of their children, four sons and four daughters 
grew to maturity. Abigail, the first, born December 13, 1798, married 
Samuel Hubbard, September 29, 181 6, and lived and died in Champion. 
Huldah, the second, died unmarried at the age of twenty-five years. 
Asa B. is mentioned at length below. Tracy R., born September 6, 
1808, died February 3, 1846, in Champion. Lucina, born November 22, 
1812, became the wife of Alphor.so Loomis, and died August 7, 1890, 
at her home near Pleasant Lake. Mary Roxana, July 7, 1815, married 
George Griswold, March 21, 1838, and passed her last days at Mile, 
Bureau county, Illinois. William Dennis, born April 8, 1818, was 
many years a tanner in Oneida county, and died at Utica alx)ut 1898. 
Newell W., November 9, 1822, was largely interested in tanning in 
this section, and now resides in Binghamton, New York. 

(V) Asa Barnes Carter was born in Champion February 7, 1806, 
and died of pneumonia, November 12, 1864, in the same town. He 
was married February 12, 1828, to Sheloma Thompson, daughter of 



56 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

James Thompson, a farmer of Champion, and his wife, Abigail Rob- 
inson. Mr. Carter was a prominent farmer of the town and active in 
public affairs. He was an elder and acted as deacon of the Presby- 
terian church, and usually led the choir in devotional sen-ices. Of 
genial and lovable nature, he was universally respected, and his judg- 
ment was a guide to many. He was active in promoting the interests 
of the Agricultural Society and its fairs. A friend of order and liberty. 
he was attached to the Whig party in its day, and joined the Repub- 
lican party upon its organization. He was an earnest temperance 
worker. His wife died October 24, 1899. Their children were: 
Asa T., mentioned further below; Chester and Lester (twins), born 
May II, 1833; Frederick C, December 2, 1839; Arthur Lee, May 13, 
1849, died September 9, 1870, in Champion. Chester is a prominent 
business man of Hannibal, Missouri, and a deacon of the Presbyterian 
church. Lester and Frederick C. are residents of Champion, the last 
named residing upon the parental homestead. He was three years a 
soldier in the Civil war. The former is a deacon of the Congregational 
church. 

(VI) Asa Thompson Carter, son of Asa B. (5) and Sheloma 
Carter, was born October 23, 1828, in the town of Champion, where 
he passed all his life except the last two years, dying in Watertown, 
March 18, 1893. He was a very active business man as well as a 
farmer. When the Carthage & Watertown railroad was being built 
he constructed a portion of the line, between Great Bend and Carthage, 
and was the first station agent at Great Bend, holding that position 
nine years. He was several years the local representative of the King 
Iron Bridge Company, and built many of the iron bridges in this section 
of the state. With his wife, he affiliated with the Disciples' church, and 
was an active Republican. For twenty years he served as justice of the 
peace, and held most of the town offices, and was deputy sheriff over 
twenty years. 

He was married January i, 1850, to Amanda Cross, who was horn 
February 24, 1833. m Antwerp. Jude Cross, father of Amanda, came 
from Berkshire, Massachusetts, and settled in Antwerp, this county, 
early in the nineteenth century. He had little early educational training, 
but became a well-informed and useful citizen. In the early days he 
taught school in the town of Rutland, and was a surveyor and justice 
of the peace in Antwerp. He died at Great Bend July 14, 1865, aged 
seventy-one years. His wife. So])hia Fairbanks, was a daughter of 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 57 

Silas Fairbanks, and descendant of Jonathan Fairbanks, who settled at 
Dedham, Massachusetts, in 1632, and there buih a house which is still 
standing. A. T. Carter and wife were the parents of three children. 
Imogene M., A. Bion and Cora A. The eldest is the wife of Zuriel 
Sarvay, and resides in Carthage, and the youngest is Mrs. Fred A. Hall, 
of Elmira, New York. 

(VII) A. Bion Carter attended the district and select schools of 
his native locality, and Ives Seminary at Antwerp. From the age of 
sixteen years he was wont to assist his father in the duties of station 
agent, and he became a skilled telegraph operator. On attaining his 
majority he entered the land office of LeRay at Carthage, with L. J. 
Goodale, who was then manager; as clerk and bookkeeper. After spend- 
ing two years as bookkeeper at the Otter Lake tannery, owned suc- 
cessively by H. J. & G. M. Botchford and Hersey & Co., he was for a 
like period in charge of the offices of the Moose River tannery. 

Mr. Carter became a resident of Carthage in 1884, when he pur- 
chased an interest in the drug business of Lewis F. Bachman, and this 
connection continued four years. Upon disposing of his interest in 
the store he went on the road and traveled two years in the interest of 
a Utica wholesale house which handled groceries, feed and millstuffs, 
and was successful in this line. For the succeeding four years he was 
with the firm of L. Crawford & Company, engaged in the manufacture 
of hemlock bark extract, at Chase's Lake, Lewis county, this state. On 
the organization of the United States Leather Company, May i, 1893, 
Mr. Carter became manager of its tannery at Fine, St. Lawrence 
county, and so continued until the tanning business was closed on 
account of the scarcity of bark and other commercial conditions. 

In December, 1901, the National Exchange Bank of Carthage, 
was organized, largely through the efforts of Mr. Carter, and it was 
opened for business January 21, 1902, with A. Bion Carter as president 
and Charles J. Reeder as cashier. With the natural Yankee instinct for 
business, Mr. Carter had established a reputation, and the bank sprang 
into a large and profitable business at once, and its deposits were trebled 
and resources doubled in the year succeeding the first three months of 
business. It has a capital of sixty thousand dollars, and owns one of 
the finest bank buildings in Northern New York. Mr. Carter accepts 
the faith of the Presbyterian church, and is a Republican in political 
principle, but desires no office. He is a member of the board of educa- 
tion of the Carthage Fligh School. He is a member of Carthage Lodge, 



58 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

No. 158, and Carthage Cliapter, Xo. 259, of the }iIasonic fraternity, 
and is affiliated with Watertown Commander)', No. 11, K. T., and 
Media Temple, of the ^Mystic Shrine, at Watertown. He is also a 
member of Carthage Lodge, No. 365, and Oriental Encampment, No. 
135, of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Carthage. 

He was married October 17, 1883, to Lelia M. Wentworth, who 
was born December 29, 1864, in Newport, Herkimer county, New 
York, a daughter of Charles O. and Melissa (Windsor) Wentworth, 
of old American families. Three daughters complete the family of 
Mr. Cartel, namely: Lulu Irene, Helen Wentworth, and Erma Louise, 
the eldest being now a student of the Carthage High School. 

With a varied business experience which has given him an insight 
of human character, and possessed of a genial and kindly nature, Mr. 
Carter has the qualities necessary to success in business, and is reckoned 
among the most progressive and respected citizens of the county. 

(VI) LESTER CARTER, a farmer residing near Pleasant 
Lake, in the town of Champion, is of the sixth generation in descent 
from Jacob Carter, who settled at Branford, Connecticut, before 1712 
(see A. B. Carter). At the time of Lester Carter's birth. May 11, 1833, 
his father, Asa Barnes Carter, lived on the "River Road," east of Great 
Bend. Until he was sixteen years old Lester lived there with his parents, 
attending the district school. The family then moved to the farm now 
owned by F. C. Carter, between Champion village and the "Huddle," 
and Lester subsequently attended a select school maintained in the vil- 
lage. He continued to make his home with his father until his mar- 
riage, assisting in the cultivation of the home farm, with the exception 
of tW'O years when he worked in the pail and tub factory of S. E. Rice 
at Carthage. In 1859 he bought a farm below Champion village, which 
he kept and tilled ten years. After selling out he engaged in the manu- 
facture of brick, in partnership with his twin brother, Chester Carter, 
now a resident of Hannibal, Missouri. Their yard was located below 
Carthage in the town of Wilna, near the present Houghton brickyard, 
but the business did not prosper and w-as soon abandoned. 

In July, 1871, Mr. Carter acquired one hundred and forty-eight 
acres of land where he now resides, on the north side of Pleasant Lake, 
and has since given his attention to its cultivation. For many years this 
farm was known as the "Kelner place," and was well improved when it 
came into possession of Mr. Carter. The house has stood for ninety 
years, but is in good condition now, having been repaired and kept in 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 59 

order by Mr. Carter, as were the other buildings, including the large 
bams. The farm is handsomely located and forms an ideal residence 
for the agriculturist. Mr. Carter was a member of the Congregational 
church at Champion during its existence, and has been a deacon in 
the society at West Carthage (successor of the Champion church) more 
than thirty years. He is a member of Champion Grange, in which he 
served as chaplain one year. During most of his adult life he has 
affiliated with the Republican party, but now gives allegiance to the 
Prohibition party. Of quiet domestic tastes, he has never taken part 
in political strife, though steadfast in the maintenance of his principles. 

He was married September i6. 1857, to Cordelia E. Burhans, a 
native of the town of LeRay, daughter of Gilbert and Eliza Burhans. 
Her mother was a daughter of Joel P. Rice, one of the first settlers of 
Champion, where he located in 1802. A son and daughter complete 
the family of Mr. Carter, namely: Lila M. and L. J. The former is 
the wife of George M. Hall, of Philadelphia, New York, and has two 
children — Charles Eddy and Eva Loella. L. J. Carter tills his father's 
farm. He married Carrie O'Hara. 

The Burhans family of which Mrs. Carter is a member is one 
of the oldest in the state. The founder in this country was Jacob 
Burhans, who was born m Holland and is first found of record March 
28, 1660, as a soldier in the Dutch service. On the record of the organ- 
ization of the church at Wiltv.'yck (Kingston), New York, December 7, 

1660, his name is found third in the list of members. November 21, 

1661, he was appointed collector of church rates and excise. In June, 
1663, he had two houses burned in the new village, outside the stockade. 
April 28, 1666, he was elected justice of the peace, and commissioner of 
the court in November of the following year. He owned land in 
Esopus (then Brabant) and lot 11 in the village of Kingston. He 
died before September, 1677. 

(2) Jan Burhans arrived April 16, 1663, at New York, in the 
ship "Bonte Koe" (Spotted Cow), and was admitted to the church 
at Kingston July 3, 1664. He was elected elder December 11, 1685, 
and again in 1696, serving until 1701. From April, 1693, to November, 
1695, he was magistrate of the town court of Kingston. Pfe died in 
October, 170S. His wife, Helena Tophagen, was a daughter of William 
Jansen and his first wife, Jannetje Claessen Graeanis, of Meppelt, 
daughter of William J. Graemis, who settled in 1660 at Bushwick. 
Helena Burhans died between 1728 and 1732. 



60 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

(3) Barent, eldest surviving son and fourth born to Jan and 
Helena Burhans, was baptized April 24, 1681, and married at Kingston 
Margriet Jans Matthyssen, daughter of Jan and Magdalena (Blanchan) 
Matthyssen. Barent was first a shoemaker and later a miller. In 
February, 1706, he bought four acres of land in "The Hell." In 1710 
he was granted five "morgens" of land which cost him nine pounds 
and the expense of survey. He was elected constable in 1708. He died 
before March 3, 1740. He had five sons and four daughters. 

(4) Johannes Burhans was baptized at Kingston, August 26, 
171 1, and married at the same place, December 12, 1735, to Sara Oos- 
terhondt, daughter of Peter Jans and Heyltje (Schut) Oosterhoudt. 
He died between March, 1758, and February, 1790. 

(5) Petrus Burhans was born May 22, 1742, and died at Fish- 
kill in March, 1811. He was married at Poughkeepsie January 16, 
1766, to Annetje Sypher, daughter of William and Nelly (Storm) 
Sypher. She died May 17, 1832, and was the mother of three sons and 
four daughters. 

(6) David Burhans was born November 16, 1775, at North 
Hackensack, New Jersey, and died March 31, 1834, in the town of 
LeRay, Jefferson county. New York. He was married at Saugerties, 
New York, July 8, 1798, to Elizabeth Flagler, daughter of Simon 
Flagler. She was born January 20, 1778, and died March 20, 1855, in 
LeRay. Soon after his marriage Mr. Burhans settled in LeRay and 
bought land on which he lived until his death. He was a member of 
the Presbyterian church at Evans Mills. Four of his sons and three 
daughters grew to adult age. 

(7) Gilbert Burhans was born May 15, 1805, at Pleasant Valley, 
New York, and was reared in LeRay. He was married May 29, 1834, 
to Eliza Lavinia Rice, daughter of Joel P. and Elizabeth (Crowner) 
Rice. She was born May 7, 1808, in Champion, and died August 28, 
1840. For his second wife, Mr. Burhans married Lucy Clark, of 
Halifax, Vermont. He died October 9, 1846. The only survivor of 
his two children is Cordelia E. (8), wife of Lester Carter. 

(VII) FREDERICK CASSANDER CARTER, son of Asa 
Barnes Carter, was born December 2, 1839. in the northern part of 
Champion, on the "River Road," and was ten years old when the family 
moved to the homestead which he now owns, near Champion village. 
His earliest acquaintance with school was made in the local districts, 
and from fifteen to sixteen vears of ag-e he attended the academies at 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 61 

Champion and Carthage (Bush's). The intervals of study were filled 
from an early age with attention to such duties as fall to farmer lads, 
and he was counted a full hand from eighteen years old. On attaining 
his majority he was employed about .a sawmill in Croghan for a time, 
and in 1862 he assisted his father in building a bridge at Great Bend. 

He enlisted as a soldier of the Civil war July 31, 1862, in a six-gun 
battery of the Tenth New York Heavy Artillary, and was continually 
in the service until June 7, 1865, when he was discharged as a duty 
sergeant. The first year was spent in the defenses about New York 
city, and the next nine months about Washington. Thereafter he acted 
with the Army of the Potomac and in the Shenandoah valley. The 
heavy artillery was chiefly employed in protective and guard duty, and 
though on the field was not brought into pitched battle. 

In November, 1865, Mr. Carter bought out the other heirs, and has 
since owned the homestead, which he tilled until 1901, renting it in 
1902-03, and working it himself since. It embraced ninety acres when 
he bought it, and he has added forty-five acres and made many improve- 
ments. Portions of the land are very stony and somewhat rougli in 
contour, but he has partially conquered nature and "made glad the 
desert places." From one and one-fourth acres he removed stone suf- 
ficient to build a wall six feet wide at base, five feet high and four feet 
wide on top, twenty-seven rods long, at a cost in wages and board for 
men and teams of eighty-seven dollars. The land is now smooth 
meadow. The farm maintains a dairy of twenty to twenty-five cows 
of Holstein strain, and is among the model farms of the town. 

Mr. Carter is a member of E. B. Steele Post, Grand Army of the 
Republic, of Carthage. He continued membership during its existence 
in the Congregational church of Champion, in which he declined the 
office of deacon. He now attends the Methodist church of Champion,, 
with his family. For fifteen years he has been an active participant in 
the work of the Champion Grange, of which he was master three terms, 
and was one year master of the Jefferson County Pomona Grange, 
At present he has charge of the sales of the Champion cheese factory. 
His political connection was for long years with the Republican party, 
but he now acts with the Prohibitionists. He was many times elected 
constable of Champion, and did much detective work in preventing the 
illegal sale of liquors in the town, being chairman of the prosecuting 
committee maintained for that purpose. He has also acted as assessor 
of the town. He is a friend of humanity, and, therefore, a supporter 



62 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

of every reform movement.. Intelligent and progressive, he enjoys the 
respect and esteem of a wide circle of acquaintance. 

Mr. Carter was married February 21, 1S66, to Miss Eliza Graves, 
who was born June 22, 1842, in Antwerp, this county, a daughter of 
Elijah and Lorinda (Clark) Graves, the former a native of Connecti- 
cut and the latter of Vermont. They came from Westmoreland, Oneida 
county, tins state, to Champion, and both families are of English 
descent. Four sons were given to Mr. and Mrs. Carter. The eldest, 
Asa Barnes, died April 24, 1891, aged twentjr-two years. He was a 
successful cheesemaker. All the sons attended the home school at the 
"Huddle" until sixteen years old, and were then sent to the Carthage 
High School, from which the youngest graduated. Fred Lee, born 
June 6, 1 87 1, would have graduated, but was taken sick. He was for 
ten years a hardware salesman in Watertown, and died April 18, 1900, 
universally regretted. Milton Graves, born July 23, 1873, was two 
years a teacher, and has been a traveling salesman seven years, with 
headquarters at Hannibal, Missouri. He went directly to this position 
from a teacher, and has remained with one firm ever since, being pro- 
moted from working for an experience up to receiving a salary of 
$100 per month. He is an oil salesman for a large house. Leon 
Thompson, born July 2, 1878, is now a student at Syracuse University 
in the class of 1904. He has always been a very ambitious student, 
never satisfied with less than "A" in any of his examinations. Out of 
sixteen applications sent by members of his class to enter Edison's testing 
room, only two, himself and one other, were accepted. 

THE BALL FAMILY. In 1613 a coat-of-arms was conferred 
upon one Richard Ball, of Northamptonshire, England, and was probably 
identical with tiiat borne by the New England and Virginia families of 
the name, as all bear a close resemblance. 

(I) Between 1635 and 1640 six sons of William Ball, of Wilt- 
shire, England, came to America. The eldest of these was Ailing Ball, 
who settled in New Haven, Connecticut, and from 1640 to 1650 was 
in charge of the Rev. John Davenport's farm at East Haven. While 
there he had two sons born- — Edward, about 1642, and John, about 1649. 
In 1650 he returned to New Haven and settled upon his own land, on 
part of which Yale College now stands. Four of his brothers were 
settled in New England, and their descendants are scattered throughout 
the countrv. 



GENEALOGICAL AXD FAMILY HISTORY. 63 

William, the sixth son of William Ball, of Wiltshire, England, was 
at one time in New Haven, but devoted himself to the trade in furs, 
tobacco and other American products, and made frequent trips to 
London, being both an exporter arid importer. He was enrolled in 
Virginia as a merchant until 1657, when he is found of record in the 
same colony as a planter. In the meantime he had continued traveling 
between London and American ports, and was married July 2, 1638. 
in London, to Hannah Atherald. He settled in Lancaster county, Vir- 
gmia, and one of his sons, Joseph, was the father of Mary Ball, who 
married Augustine Washington. She was left a widow while her chil- 
dren were young, but was a strong and resolute character, and reared 
a son, George, who will ever be revered and honored as "Father of 
his Country." 

(II) Edward, eldest son of Ailing Ball, born about 1642, married 
Abigail Blatchly about 1664, and moved with the church of which he was 
a member about 1667, to New Jersey, locating on the present site of the 
city of Newark. He was assigned a lot of about six acres in the heart of 
the present city, and a portion of this is now occupied by his descendant, 
Miss Rachel Burnet. Edward and Abigail Ball had four sons and two 
daughters — Caleb, Abigail, Joseph, Lydia, Moses and Thomas. 

(III) Thomas, son of Edward Ball, was born in 1687 in Newark, 
and about 1710 married Sarah Davis. He died December 18, 1744, 
and his widow survived until February i, 1778, reaching the age of 
eighty-eight years. They were the parents of twelve children. 

(IV) Nathaniel, eldest child of Thomas and Sarah Ball, was 
born about 171 1, and married Esther Osburn. He resided at Connecti- 
cut Farms, New Jersey, where he died in 1781, aged seventy years. 

(V) Nehemiah, son of Nathaniel and Esther Ball, was born in 
1756, and married Esther Sallee at Connecticut Farms. He was first 
sergeant of an artillery company in the Revolutionary army, whose 
muster roll is still preserved by his descendants in Watertown, New 
York. In 1796 he moved with his family to Frankfort, Herkimer county, 
this state, and died in June, 1847, at Pultney, Steuben county. New York. 
His wife died in 18 16 in Rutland, New York. She was the mother of 
nine children. The sixth of these, Sinecy, receives appropriate mention 
in this article. 

(VI) Elihu, second child and eldest son of Nehemiah and Esther 
(Sallee) Ball, was born July 25, 1784, in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and 
was twelve years old when the family went to Frankfort, New York. 



64 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

The father liad purchased this land without having seen it, and when he 
located upon it there was work for all in clearing up the land and making 
a home. Having grown to man's estate, in the fall of 1805 he visited 
Jefiferson county and bought land in the town of Rutland, in Septem- 
ber. On the sixth of March, 1806, he left Herkimer county and arrived 
at his Rutland purchase four days later. He describes Watertown as 
being a hamlet of a dozen small houses then. He cleared twenty-five 
acres and built a log house and barn ; he then sold his farm and bought 
another adjoining of eighty acres which he cleared and improved. He 
settled on tlie second place in the spring of 1810. It is apparent that 
he must have been industrious, as he had accomplished much in the 
wilderness in the first four years. 

In December, 18 12, he volunteered in a cavalry company, and served 
three months about Sacketts Harbor and Cape Vincent, with the rank 
of sergeant. In June, 1814, he went with his team to Buffalo, helping 
to convey a regiment for the defense of that point against possible 
British invasion. Returning to Sacketts Harbor in September of the 
same year, he kept a boarding house at that place until peace was pro- 
claimed in March, 1S15. He then returned to his farm in Rutland, on 
which he built a frame barn in 1817, and a house in 1822. Four of his 
children were born in the log house, which was replaced by a frame 
building in 1822. Having retired from active farming in favor of 
his son, in 1856, he moved with the latter to Watertown, where he 
continued to reside until his death on February 19, 187 1. 

He was married November 22, 1804, to Anna, daughter of Will- 
iam Pelton. She was born August 25, 1785, in Saybrook, Connecticut, 
and was in her tenth year when Mr. Pelton brought his family to 
Frankfort, this state. He came in the early spring with four yokes 
of oxen and two sleighs, the journey consuming three weeks. Mrs. 
Ball died February 10, 1857, at the home of her son in Watertown. 
Following is a record of her children; Maria, born January i, 1806, 
died September 10, 1889, while visiting friends at Clayton; 
she was then the widow of John P. Wilson, of Watertown. Samantha, 
born October 9, 1807, became the wife of Pliny Monroe, and died 
May 5, 1887, in Watertown, being then a widow. Juliette, born March 
27, 1809, married Samuel Payne, and died at Tylerville, June 17, 1881. 
William P., born November 24, 1810, was a farmer in Rutland, where 
he died April 10, 1902. Henry Morris, the subject of the following 
paragraphs. Lucippa Ann, born June 2, 1824, died December 9, 1885; 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 65 

she was tlie wife of Charles Pickett, of T3'lerville, and both died in 
Watertown, where Mr. Pickett was in business for a number of years. 
(VII) Maria, eldest child of Elihu and Anna (Pelton) Ball, was 
born January i, 1806, at Frankfort, New York. In March of the same 
year, her parents moved to Rutland, where she resided until her marriage, 
January 17, 1827, to John P. Wilson. Mr. Wilson was a farmer in the 
Town of Watertown, and died there. His wife died September 10, 1889, 
while visiting friends at Clayton. They were the parents of five children, 
the eldest of whom receives extended notice below. Mary, the second, 
married Albert Hall. George Almon resides at Burr's Mills. Melissa, 
wife of Byron Monroe, died. Jennie married Byron Champlin, and 
resides at Bowling Green, Ohio. 

(VIII) Anna Elizabeth, eldest child of John P. and Maria (Ball) 
Wilson, was born July 10, 1830, in the town of Watertown, and remained 
at home with her parents until February 7, 1850, when she was married 
to Phineas Collins. He was born June 17, 1820, in the town of Martins- 
burg, Lewis county, this state, and in manhood engaged in farming in 
the town of Watertown until April, 1871, when he located in the city of 
Watertown. He died August 27, 1892, and his wife passed away July 
13, 1877. Mr. Collins was an old-time Democrat, and made no change 
in his allegiance. Brief mention of his children follows : 

(IX) Clark Wilson Collins was born April 15, 1851, in the town 
of Watertown, and married Frances Ann Thurston, daughter of Pierson 
K. Thurston, of Burr's Mills. 

(IX) Flora Melissa Collins, born July 19, i860, in the town of 
Watertown, was married June 17, 1880, to Frank Amos Baker. He was 
born July 4, 185 1, in Gouverneur, St. Lawrence county, this state. He 
is an earnest Republican, and a member of Watertown Lodge, No. 49, 
of the Masonic order. He is a machinist, and resides in the city of 
Watertown. His eldest child, Cora Ann, born August 6, 188 1, died 
March 24, 1883. Roy Eugene born May 24, 1885, is employed by his 
uncle, George C. Baker, a merchant of Watertown. Arthur Frank, born 
August 24, 1887, died January 11, 1897. Gladys Mildred May, born 
March 11, 1893, is a student of the city schools. 

(X) Frank Collins Baker, second child and eldest son of Frank 
Amos and Flora M. (Collins) Baker, was born March 13, 1883, in the 
city of Watertown, in whose public schools he received his education. 
He acquired the trade of machinist, by close study and much hard labor 



66 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

becoming a skilled artisan. He is a member of the First Baptist Church. 
and is respected as an upright Christian man. 

(VII) Henry Morris Ball, son of Elihu. was born June 27, 1820, 
being the last of the children born in the log house. He was educated in 
the common schools of that period and obtained what would be con- 
sidered in these days a rather limited education. In the fall of 1839, 
being then nineteen years of age, he went to Depauville and lived in the 
family of Stephen Johnson for two years. Mr. Johnson was postmaster 
and owned grist and saw mills. Young Ball made himself useful dur- 
ing these two years, at a salary of seventy-five dollars per year and board, 
and felt that he was getting the best of the bargain, perhaps. He saved 
one-half of his two years' salary, and in the fall of 1841 came to the then 
village of Watertown, where, in company wath Walter N. Woodruff, he 
bought out a grocery store. This business did not prove satisfactory, 
and a year later he returned to his native place to assist his father, who 
was then some fiftv years of age. Being possessed of the Yankee aptitude 
for business, he soon liegan to enlarge the field of his endeavors, and 
beginning about 1845 dealt in stock more or less. In the fall of 1856 he 
moved to Watertown and bought the property on Paddock street, which 
ever after continued to be his home. In this he made valuable improve- 
ments, including a barn costing $3,500, and it is one of the most desir- 
able places in the city. He then engaged in the purchase of farm produce, 
dealing quite extensively in butter and cheese, and occupied a store in the 
city some forty years, retiring in 1898. Beside owning considerable 
valuable real estate in the city, he had a farm of nearly four hundred 
acres in the town of Rutland, with fifty head of cattle, all of which he 
looked after and managed personally. His life was a very active one, 
and he was remarkably well preserved at the time of his death, March 19, 
1904. His demise was caused by heart failure, in the midst of apparently 
perfect health. By his industry and shrewdness, he accumulated a hand- 
some competence. In young manhood be adhered to the Democratic 
party, but its attitude on the slavery issue alienated him and he had been 
a steadfast Republican ever since the adoption of the "Missouri Com- 
promise." Never an office-seeker, he always took an intelligent interest 
in the jirogress of his county, the state and the nation. During the Civil 
war he was prevented by the demands of a growing family from volun- 
teering as a soldier, hut sent a soldier in his place, though he was not 
drafted and was not compelled to do so. He was a leading member of 




(^.M^^alej) 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 67 

the Universalist church, ancl one of the most prominent and progressive 
citizens of Watertown. 

Mr. Ball was married March 9, 1843, to Mehitable Burnhani. who 
was born in May. 1822, at Burr's Mills, daughter of Nathaniel Burn- 
ham, of that place. (See Burnham, VI.) Mrs. Ball died April 22, 1871, 
leaving three children. The first of these, Helen Medora, born April 25, 
1845, is the widow of John J. Lamon, of Watertown. Alice B., born No- 
vember 2, 1846, is the widow of William W. Scott, and resides in New 
York city. Wooster O., of whom further mention appears later. Mr. Ball 
married for his second wife, September 17, 1873, Eunice E. Drullard, 
who was born May 27, 1841, in Albany, iJew York, daughter of Solomon 
and Eunice (Ingalls) Drullard, of French and English descent respect- 
ively. The children of this marriage are : ^^'illiam Drullard, men- 
tioned hereinafter. Fred Henry, born Novemlier 10, 1876, died at 
the age of three years. Arthur Rea, mentioned hereinafter. Margaret 
Lorain, born March 29, 1888, at home. 

(Vni) Wooster Orlin Ball was born September 26, 1853, ""^ 
Rutland, this county, and -was reared in the city of Watertown. He 
was a student of the Watertown high school, and spent two years at 
Dartmouth College. In the meantime he had given some attention to 
business in the office of his father, and he left school in order to engage 
in business as a partner of the latter in the produce trade. Before he 
was thirty years of age he became interested in the idea of making paper 
from the immense lumber resources of the Black River valley, and in 
1887 he built a pulp mill at Black River which he operated ten years. 
In January, 1897, he organized the Tissue Paper Company of Carthage, 
in which he was appointed secretary and treasurer, and still continues in 
that capacity. He had previously been interested in tlie Black River Wood 
Pulp Company, which leased and operated what was known as the Spicer 
plant at Carthage, now out of existence. In 1900, to supply the de- 
mands of the Tissue Paper Company, a pulp mill was constructed at 
South Edwards, the product of which is consumed at Carthage. In 
all of these enterprises Mr. Ball has been a moving spirit, and their 
success is largely due to his industry and sound business faculty. He 
attends the Presbyterian church, with his family, and is an ardent be^ 
liever in the principles of Republicanism. 

Mr. Ball was married June 23, 1881, to Miss Kate L. Baker, who 
was born June 21, 1859, at Oswego, New York, daughter of George 
and Cynthia (Mattison) Baker, natives, respectively, of Watertown 



68 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

and Scriba, New York. Mrs. Ball's grandfather, Thomas Baker, was 
an early resident of \\'atertown, where he ser^-ed long as a magistrate. 
Mr. and Mrs. Ball are the parents of three children, born as follows : 
Marguerite Mattison, November 2, 1886; Glady.s Morgan, July 12, 
1888; and William Burnham, January 18, 1891. 

William Drullard Ball was born April 21, 1875, in \\'atertown, 
this county. He attended the Watertown public schools, the Clinton 
Liberal In.stitute, at Fort Plain, New York, St. Lawrence University, 
and Union College. At the age of nineteen years he left college to 
engage in the pulp business with his brother, at Carthage, and upon 
the organization of the Tissue Paper Company he was made vice- 
president. He is a diligent and successful business man, and a popular 
citizen of Cartilage, where he has resided since 1894. He is a director of 
the Champion Paper Company of that town, which he assisted in estab- 
lishing in 1901, and is president of the village board of water commis- 
sioners. He is a staunch Republican, and active in the local councils of 
his party. He is a firm believer in the faith of the Universalist church. 

He was married July 19, 1898, to Miss Eva Weber, daughter of 
John and Carrie Weber, of German extraction. Mrs. Ball is a native 
of Carthage, and a m.ember of Grace Episcopal church. 

Arthur Rea Ball was born November 6, 1877, at Watertown, New 
York. He was educated in the schools of that city, and the Clinton 
Liberal Institute. .At eigh.teen years of age he engaged in the wholesale 
produce business with his father at Watertown, and came to Carthage 
in the spring of 1897 to join his brothers in the paper manufacture. 
After two years' service as clerk and handy man he became superin- 
tendent of the plant, wdiich position he now holds, and is at present man- 
ager of the Cham])ion Paper Company, which he assisted in organizing, 
and whose plant he built. He is a steadfast Republican in political prin- 
ciples. 

He was married June 14, 1899, to Anna Irving Hollis, who was 
born in Canton, New York, December 11, 1878, daughter of Charles J. 
and Martha A. (Harris) Hollis. His wife, ALartha A. (Harris) Holhs, 
was a daughter of the inventor of the Harris scale. Mrs. Ball is a mem- 
ber of the Presbyterian church, of Carthage, where the family resides. 
Mr. Ball attends the Universalist church. 

(VI) Sinecy, sixth of the nine children of Nehemiah and Esther 
(Sallee) Ball, was torn March 3, 1791, in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and 
was taken by his parents to Frankfort, Herkimer county, this state, when 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 69 

five years of age. There he grew to manhood and received such educa- 
tion as was afforded by the pioneer schools. Before attaining his ma- 
jority, he came to this county and spent a few years in Rutland, where 
he was married. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, for which he was 
granted a pension a few years before his death. In the year 18 17 he 
located in the town of Theresa, being one of the first permanent residents 
of that town. He settled on the military road two miles west of the falls, 
cleared up the land, and became one of the prosperous farmers and influ- 
ential citizens of his town. He was an officer at Sackets Harbor in 
1812-14, and subsequently a colonel of militia. He was often in com- 
mand at the trainings at Antwerp, near Cook's tavern. He sold his orig- 
inal farm in 1836 and bought another in the same town, and passed his 
last years on his third farm near Hyde Lake, in the town of Theresa, 
where he died July i, 1877, '" ''''^ eighty-seventh year. 

He married Charlotte Towne, March 25, 1813. She was born Sep- 
tember 4, 1792, in New Hampshire, a daughter of Francis and Relief 
Towne, early residents of Rutland. Colonel Ball's family incuded seven 
sons and one daughter, who grew to maturity, and two are now living. 
The first three died in infancy. Warren, born May 13, 1818, died at 
Centralia, Illinois. Edward, May 20, 1830, died in Watertown, as 
related below. Egbert, March 27, 1822 died near Hyde Lake. Willis, 
April 21, 1824, died at Plessis. Charles, May 3, 1826, died in Theresa. 
Chauncey April 15, 183 1, lived on his father's homestead, where he died. 
Wilson F., June 30. 1834. is now a Methodist clergyman, located at 
Tupper Lake. The daughter, Emeline, born July, 14, 1828, married David 
G. Collins, and is now the widow of Henry Cough, residing at Cape Vin- 
cent. She was educated in the public schools of the town and village of 
Theresa, and taught three terms of school in her native town while a 
young lady. She was never blessed with children. She is a member of 
the Presbyterian church at Cape Vincent, and has been a teacher in the 
Sunday school. Having been a widow ten years at one time, and again 
during the last nineteen years, she now lives entirely alone, and affords 
a good example of the virility and longevity of those bearing the Ball 
blood. 

Colonel Ball attended and supported the Universalist church and 
was a Whig and Republican. A quiet man, he attended to his own con- 
cerns and was a strictly temperate, upright and exemplary citizen. 

(VII) Edward, second son and child and Colonel Sinecy and Char- 
lotte (Towne) Ball, was born May 30, 1820, in the town of Theresa, and 



7(» GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

received his education in the common schools of his native town and the 
"Middle Road school," in the town of Rutland, whither he went at the 
age of thirteen years to live with his uncle, Luther Towne. His first 
independent undertaking- was in the cultivation of rented lands, succes- 
sively in the towns of Theresa, Rutland and Watertown. In 1877 he 
purchased the farm in the last named town, on which now reside his 
sons, Henry C. and John B. Ball. He was a successful farmer and 
owned and operated a cheese factory, continuing these industries until his 
death, which took place October i. 1883. While not a member of any 
religious organization, he was a moral man and respected as an indus- 
trious and upright citizen. He was a sincere Republican in political 
principle, and the confidence of his fellows is shown in the fact that he 
served several years as collector of the town of Watertown. 

He was married January 6. 1843, to Eliza Howell, born in the town 
of Champion, December 5. 1823. and died December 29. 1902. She was 
the daughter of William and Mary (Raymond) Howell. The children 
of Edward and Eliza (Howell) Ball, eight in number, settled near their 
parents, and all now living reside within their native town. Jane Eliza, 
born September 3, 1844. in the town of Rutland, is a highly intelligent 
lady, and is regarded as a mother by the younger members of the family. 
Her home is in Watertown, with her widowed sister as companion. 
Byron Edward receives further mention in a following paragraph. Her- 
bert William, born December 9, 1849, died when thirty -five years old, 
unmarried. Anna Jennette. born September 4, 1853, in the town of 
Watertown. died in her tenth year. Lucy Ann. November 25, 1855, was 
married March 20, 1879, to George B. Simmons, who died April 7, 1891, 
leaving two children namely: Edith M., born Aug^ist i, 1883, and Ed- 
ward D.. November 13. 188S. died August 22, 1893. Charles Gardner 
Ball, born March 17, 1859. in Rutland, died in the beginning of his six- 
teenth year. Henry C. is the subject of a later paragraph, as is also 
John B., the youngest. 

(Vni) Byron Edward, second child and eldest son of Edward 
and Eliza (Howell) Ball, was born June 14. 1847. in the town of Rut- 
land, and received a practical education in the common schools. In early 
manhood_ he followed teaching and farming, and purchased bis present 
farm in 1883. It is located in the southeastern part of the town of Water- 
town, com])rising valley and upland, especially adapted to dairying and 
stock-growing. Like all the family he believes in and. supports the prin- 
ciples ft the Republican party. He was married November 23, 1869. to 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 71 

Lovica Wadley, daugliter of James Wadley. She was born October 19, 
1846, and died June 11, 1903, leaving a son, Arthur Boynton Ball. Mr. 
Ball is of retiring disposition, respected and esteemed by his neighbors. 

(IX) Arthur Boynton, only child of Byron E. and Lovica Ball, 
was born November 19, 1873, in the town of Watertown, was educated in 
the public schools and resides on the farm with his father. He was 
married October 13, 1897, to Nora Anna Fralick, who was born October 
10, 1877, in the town of Worth, daughter of Adam and Adelaide (Wash- 
burn) Fralick. The tenth generation is represented by the son of 
Arthur B. Ball, namely, Keith Adam Byron, born June 23, 1904. 

(VIII) Henry C, seventh child of Edward and Eliza (Howell) 
Ball, was born June 26, 1861, in Rutland, and was reared in the town of 
Watertown, attending the public scliools. From his father he learned 
the details of cheese-making, and has continued that industry to the pres- 
ent time, in conjunction with farming. He is a member of the Water- 
town Produce Exchange, and is regarded as a successful and exemplary 
business man of his town. He adheres to the political precepts of his 
father and grandfather, believing in the financial and protective systems 
in vogue. 

Mr. Ball was married October 27, 1885, to Miss Mertilla C. Horn, 
a daughter of Thomas and Angeline Horn. She was born March 8, 1865, 
on Wolf Island, in the St. Lawrence river, under Canadian dominion. 
Mr. Ball's family includes two children, born in the town of Watertown, 
as follows: Ada Horn, April 7, 1890, and Beulah A., November 27, 
1898. 

(VIII) John B., youngest child of Edward and Eliza (Howell) 
Ball, was born April 23, 1866, in Watertown, and resides with his elder 
brother on the farm which their father purchased in 1877, on which he 
was born. He gives assiduous attention to business, in the operation of 
the cheese factory and farm, in company with his brother, and does not 
seek political station, though sound and stable in political principle. The 
brothers are respected citizens of the town, as were their father and grand- 
father. 

(I) Among the six sons of William Ball, of Wiltshire, England, 
who came to American before 1640, as above noted, was John Ball, who 
settled near Boston. 

(II) Nathaniel, son of John Ball, with his wife Mary resided in 
Concord. Massachusetts, and had the following children : John, died 



72 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

1649; Nathaniel, born and died 1649; Eljenezer, Eleazur and John, the 
latter born 1660. 

(III) Eleazur, fourth son of Nathaniel and ]Mary Ball, was born 
somewhere about 1653 to 1658. 

(IV) Deacon Eleazur, son of Eleazur Ball, was born in 1698, in 
Concord, Massachusetts, and was one of the first settlers in Rutland, in 
Worcester county, same colony, in 17 19. For a time he lived in South- 
bridge, same county, and removed to Spencer, a neighboring town in 
Worcester countv, in 1752. The record of his children is as follows: 
Jonas, Joseph, Peter, a daughter (unnamed), Abigail, Silas, Jonathan, 
the last two being twins. 

(V) Jonathan Ball, last above named, was born in 1752, in South- 
bridge, Massachusetts, and was among the early settlers of Lowville. 
Lewis county, this state, where he cleared up land and engaged in agri- 
culture. He was one of the respected and worthy citizens of that town, 
where he died in 1831. His wife, Anna Gibbs, was a native of old Sud- 
bury, Massachusetts, a daughter of Mr. and Anna (Townsend) Gibbs. 
of that town. The time of her death is not known. Their family included 
six children. Jonathan Ball served as a soldier through the Revolution. 

Jonathan Ball (2), son of Jonathan and Anna Ball, was born Au- 
gust 15, 1783, in Southbridge, Massachusetts, and was about at his ma- 
jority when he removed with his parents to Lowville, New York. His 
active life was there devoted to farming, and he was a man of influence 
in the town, and highly respected by his neighbors. He was a soldier 
in the war of 1812, emulating his father's example in defending his native 
land against invading enemies. 

Mr. Ball was married September 5, 1805, to Lucinda Ballard, who 
was born February 5, 1786. in Hatfield, Massachusetts, a daughter of 
John and Ann (Dickinson) Ballard. They had four sons and two daugh- 
ters. Mr. Ball died at Lowville, January 24, 1833, J" his fiftieth year, 
and was survived nearly twenty-four years by his widow, who passed 
away November 20, 1856, at Belmont, New York. 

(VI) John Ballard Ball, son of Jonathan (2) and Lucinda (Bal- 
lard) Ball, was born September 6, 181 1, in Lowville, New York. He 
attended the public school of his native town, and assisted his father on 
the home farm until he was grown up. He then learned the harness- 
maker's trade and followed it for a short time, returning to the farm upon 
the death of his father. For three years he managed the farm for his 
mother, achieving a large degree of success as a reward for his untiring 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 73 

efforts. In 183S he located in what is now the town of Cape Vincent, 
then part of Lyme. After tilHng a farm there seven years he removed to 
the town of Watertown in 1845, ^"fl continued to reside there the re- 
mainder of his days. He became a large landowner, gradually extend- 
ing the bounds of his home farm, and acquiring land in other states, as an 
investment. His success in life was the result of his own industry, sound 
business faculty and perseverance. It is easy to realize that such a man 
had little time to devote to others' concerns, and was averse to any part 
in practical politics, but he was settled in bis convictions of true public 
policy and sustained the Republican party. He was a member of Water- 
town Grange, No. 7, and a life member of the Jefferson Countv Agri- 
cultural Society. Being interested in education, be served as school trus- 
tee, but refused any other official station. 

John Ballard Ball was married April 15, 1835, to Melinda Bailey, 
who was born in the village of Watertown January 17, 1813, a daughter 
of Captain Setli and Rebecca (Loomis) Bailey. Mr. Ball died October 
23' 1903- and bis wife died March 31, 1888. Following is mention of 
their children: Irene Allen, born February 25, 1837, ^t Lowville, died 
when two years old. Lucinda, born March 2. 1840, at Millens Bay, now 
Riverview, town of Cape Vincent, married George Adams Taylor, Janu- 
ary 20, 1864, and resides in the city of Watertown. John Nathan receives 
farther mention below. Charlotte, born October 29, 1844, at Riverview, 
was married January 20, 1864, to Luzern Westcott, and died April 25, 
1869, at Oneonta, New York. 

The children of Luzern and Charlotte Wescott are : Helen, born 
June, 1865, aiid Minnie, December, 1866. Silas Dexter Ball, born March 
21, 1847, married Alice Patterson, December 29, 1868, and resides in the 
city of Watertown. Burton Ballard Ball, born June 6, 1849, ^^'^^ mar- 
ried November 17, 1875, to Florence Ranney, and died August 23, 1902, 
in Pamelia, this county. Eva Jane Ball, born September 6, 1852, was 
married December 2, 1875, to Oscar W. Barnes, and resides in Water- 
town. She is the mother of Roy Barnes, born in 1877. Fred A. Ball 
receives extended mention below. 

(VII) John Nathan Ball, third child and first son of John Ballard 
and Malinda (Bailey) Ball, was born May 20, 1842, at Millen's Bay, in 
the town of Cape Vincent, and received his education in the public schools 
of Watertown. He remained at home with his parents until he finally 
purchased a farm adjoining the paternal homestead, and successfully 
tilled and managed it until 1S94, in which year be removed to the city 



74 GEXEALOGICAL AXD FAMILY HISTORY. 

of Watertown and retired from farming. In politics he is a Republican, 
and he is a member of Watertown Grange, No. 7, one of the most flourish- 
ing societies of its kind in the country. Mr. Ball believes in public edu- 
cation, and has acted as school trustee, as a duty to the community. He 
is of a quiet and reserved nature, a respected citizen and a worthy rep- 
resentative of an honored name and ancestry. His beautiful and spacious 
home in the city of Watertown is located at the corner of Washington 
street and Flower avenue west, and is presided over by his wife and their 
daughter, Etta May, estimable and amiable ladies, esteemed by all who 
have the honor of their acquaintance. Mr. Ball and his family are regular 
attendants of the Second Presbyterian Church of Watertown. 

He was married November 20, 1866, to Miss Adeline Sickler, a 
daughter of John Garrison and Hannah (Wightman) Sickler. She was 
born November 21, 1850. in the town of Milford, Otsego county. New 
York. Her children were: Will Ballard. Etta May and Vera. The 
last named, born May 30. 1884. died in infancy. 

Will Ballard Ball was born September 20. 1867. in the town of 
Watertown, was educated in the public schools, and remained at home 
some years, following agriculture. For two years he has been the pro- 
prietor of a harness store in the city of Watertown. He is a stanch 
Republican, and a member of the Knights of Pythias. He was married 
in November, 1891. to Miss Mary Gertrude Hardy, daughter of Phineas 
and Eunitia (Earl) Hardy. She was born at Sanford's Corners, in the 
town of LeRay, this county, and is the mother of Charlotte Millard Ball, 
born September 16, 1897, in the town of Watertown. Mr. Ball's home 
is on Flower avenue west. 

Etta May Ball w-as born February 24, 1870, in the city of Water- 
town and was married February 20, 1890, to George Leon Hardy, a son 
of Phineas Hardy, above mentioned. He was born June 25, 1869, at 
Sanford's Corners, and has a son. Earl Ball Hardy, born September 18, 
1898. Mr. and Mrs. Hardy reside with the latter's parents, on Wash- 
ington street, Watertown. 

(VH) Fred Archie Ball, youngest child of John Ballard and 
Malinda (Bailey) Ball, was born December i, 1855, on the homestead 
in the town of Watertown, where he now resides. The public schools of 
his native town and the city of Watertown afforded his educational train- 
ing, and he began early to receive lessons in agriculture at home. He 
continued with his father until 1880. when he went to Rutland and began 
farming on his own account. A year later he settled on a farm near 





^ J^^f^^i-^^ 



^/ 




%^ 




cj^ (p. 7C^ 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 75 

Adams Center, on which he continued to reside until 1904, and which 
he still owns. In the spring of the last named year he returned to the 
paternal homestead, where he carries on general farming and dairying. 
He is a progressive and successful agriculturist, a good citizen, and com- 
mands the respect of his fellows. He affiliates with Adams Center 
Grange, and contributes his share to the success of this valuable associa- 
tion. A sound Republican, he desires the success of his party, because 
he believes its principles to be sound, but does not desire any recognition 
in the way of official honors. 

Mr. Ball was married December 18, 1878, at Burr's Mills, to Miss 
Carrie Adams Thurston, who was born October 26, 1858, near that place, 
in the town of Watertown a daughter of Pierson Kendall and Lucy Ann 
(Adams) Thurston. Pierson K. Thurston was born October 19, 1820, 
at Burr's Mills, and his wife was born September 3, 1822, in the town of 
Rodman. She was^a daughter of Samuel and Sally Adams, and died at 
Burr's Mills, January 20, 1870. Fred A. Ball and wife are the parents 
of two sons, named below : 

Rollie Thurston Ball was born April 3, 1884, near Adams Center, 
and was educated in the public schools of his native town. He is a valua- 
ble assistant in the labors of the home farm. Burt Bailey Ball was born 
March 28, 1886, on the Adams homestead, and is an assistant of his 
father an'd brother at home. 

THE HULL FAMILY. The family of Hull is an old one in 
England, and has furnished many good citizens to the United States. 
Among these may be mentioned Philip Hull, a prominent farmer and 
business man of West Carthage, New York, and his sons — Dr. C. J. 
and W. P. Hull — of the same place. 

(I) James Hull, a shepherd of Coltishall, Norfolk county, Eng- 
land, was a man of remarkable endurance and strength. On the day of 
his death, in the year 1829, at the age of eighty years, he walked from 
Yarmouth to his home, a distance of twenty-two miles, and was in 
ordinary good health. It is supposed that be was poisoned by Spanish 
fly which he carried in his pocket for use on sheep, and which came in 
contact with the luncheon carried also in his pocket during his labors 
as shepherd. He was twice married. 

(II) William Hull, only son of James Hull, was born at Coltis- 
hall. Norfolk county, England, in 1777. He came to America in 1837, 
and died in Westmoreland, Oneida county. New York, in 1852. His 



76 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

first wife, Nancy (Woodhouse) Hull, also a native of Coltishall, died 
at Westmoreland, New York, in 1842, aged sixty- four years. He 
married for his second wife Mrs. Caroline Woodruff, widow of a Revo- 
lutionary soldier, and her death occurred in W^estmoreland, New York, 
in 1 85 1, aged eighty-nine years. 

(III) William Hull, only son of A\"illiam and Nancy (W'ood- 
house) Hull, was born in Horstead, Norfolk county, England, June 8, 
1805, and died at Clark's Mills, Oneida county. New York, May 28, 
1878. In 1837 he, with h:s father and mother and two of his children 
— Mary Ann and Philip — came to America, landing June 4, 1837, in 
New York, after a seven weeks voyage in a sailing vessel from London. 
He remained with his father and mother in the town of New Hart- 
ford, Oneida county, New York, until September, 1837, when he re- 
turned to England, leaving his two children with his parents. He 
remained in England over eleven years, and in November, 1848, re- 
turned to America \\ith his wife and the remainder of his children. 
He located in Peckville, Oneida county. New York, where he was en- 
gaged for many years in the Wadding factory. His wife, Mary Ann 
(Neal) Hull, was born at Lamas, Norfolk county, England, in Febru- 
ary, 1S05, and died July 28, 1878, at Clark's Mills, Oneida county. 
New York. She bore him the following named children: i. Mary 
Ann, who became the wife of Charles Daykin, and died at Clark's 
Mills, aged thirty-two years. 2. Philip, mentioned at length herein- 
after. 3. Amy, who died in infancy before the family left England. 
4. Charlotte, the widow of John Tier, residing in Walesville, New 
York. 5. William, who died in Utica, New York, at the age of forty- 
seven years. 6. Eliza, who died in Rome, New York, aged thfrty-two 
years, while the wife of Alfred Brown. 7. Harriet, who died unmar- 
ried, aged twenty-two years. 8. Anna, who is the wife of Andrew 
Skillins, of Rome, New York. 9. Alfred, who resides at Roseboom, 
Otsego county. New York. He was a Union soldier in the civil war. 
10. Sarah, born at Peckville, Oneida county, New York, died un- 
married, aged twenty years. 

(IV) Philip Hull, eldest son of William and Mary Ann (Neal) 
Hull, was born September 18, 1829, at Lamas, Norfolk county, Eng- 
land, and be came to this country in 1837. Necessity compelled him to 
l)egin his active business career when thirteen years of age, which he 
did amid the most discouraging circumstances and with only five dollars 
in his possession, this amount having been l^orrowed from his grand- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 77 

father. He walked nine miles to the city of Utica, where he purchased 
a small tin trunk and between eight and nine dollars' worth of goods 
to begin peddling with, on which he paid three dollars and fifty cents, 
and the dealer, being impressed with his apparent ambition and energy, 
told him that he would trust hmi for the remainder. Under these cir- 
cumstances he started out, and by dint of economy and perseverance 
he was in the short space of six months' time enabled to pay up all of 
his indebtedness and purchase another trunk and a larger stock of 
goods. He also purchased new clothing for himself. Seeing the neces- 
sity of having a better education, he made arrangements with a farmer 
to do "chores" for his board, durmg the winter months attending school, 
and paying his tuition. When he was nineteen years old he sent for his 
father and mother to come to this country, using the bulk of his hard- 
earned savings to accomplish this purpose. He continued in the same 
line of business until he was twenty-one years old, when he purchased 
a piece of land consisting of about three acres, adjoining his grand- 
father's place of seven acres, for which he gave his note. He repaired 
his grandfather's house, and resided there until the death of the latter, 
when he paid two hundred dollars to his sister for her share of the 
property, and in this way became the owner of the old homestead in 
Westmoreland. He resided thereon for about four years after his 
marriage, but his operations did not meet with the success he antici- 
pated. Two cows, for which he gave his note, died, and subsequently 
he purchased a number of others, but they also died. In 1856 he dis- 
posed of ins property at a fair price, and with the proceeds purchased 
a farm in Madison county, Nev/ York, where he followed agricultural 
pursuits, achieving a small degree of success. For twO' years he con- 
ducted a hotel at Pratt's Hollow, same county, with good success, but in 
1862 he disposed of this and purchased a farm in Clinton, Oneida 
county, New York, on which he remained four years. 

In 1866 he purchased a farm and became a resident of Rutland, 
Jefiferson county. New York, where he remained until 1870. In that 
year he sold this property and purchased another farm, this one being 
located near Carthage, New York. His first residence here was on 
Martin street, where he remained thirteen years. He subsequently 
dwelt sixteen years on North Main street. West Carthage, and during 
this time he bought and sold several pieces of real estate. He purchased 
a fine fruit farm at Lyndonville, Orleans county, New York, lived upon 
it a short time, then sold it at a fair profit and returned to West Car- 



78 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. ' 

thage. His present home is on Champion street, where he is leading 
a retired hfe. Mr. Hull is a public-spirited citizen, and has been active 
in promoting the progress and development of his home town. He 
is the owner of a tract at the lower end of the village, which he is 
subdividing as an addition for dwelling sites and business property. 
He was one of the first trustees of the incorporated village of West 
Carthage, and has refused the proffer of its presidency. He has served 
from time to time as water commissioner, and was largely instrumental 
in securing a water supply from the Carthage plant. For many years 
he acted as assessor of the town of Champion with satisfaction to the 
citizens. He supports the principles of public policy maintained by 
the Republican party, and attends the Congregational church, with 
which his wife is associated as a member. He is one of the four living 
charter members of Carthage Grange, out of tliirty-four. 

Mr. Hull was married September 29, 1852, in Fulton county, 
Ohio, to Lucia Crosby, born in Hartwick, Otsego county. New York, 
June 7, 1834. She was a daughter of the late John and Sarah (Adams) 
Crosby, and removed with her parents to Fulton county, Ohio, in 1837. 
Her grandfather was John Crosby, who was born March 7, 1769, at 
Martha's Vineyard, and died in Hartwick, New York, March 8, 1858. 
He was a butter-tub maker and cooper. His wife, Mary (Lasell) 
Crosby, born in Scotland, Windham county, Connecticut, June 15, 
1769, died March 20, 1862, bore him five children. John Crosby, 
father of Mrs. Hull, was born October 24, 1798, in Lisbon, Connecti- 
cut, and was a hatter by trade. He was formerly a resident of Hart- 
wick, New York, from whence he removed to Fulton county, Ohio, 
where he died September 24, 1858. His wife, Sally (Adams) Crosby, 
born October 17, 1802, at Hartwick, New York, was the mother of 
four children, three of whom are now living. Their names are as 
follows: Mary, born September 14, 1824, who became the wife of 
Anson Curtis, and died in October, 1890, aged sixty-six years. Martha, 
born November 25, 1829, who resides in Minnesota, is the widow of 
William Fullerton, who was a veteran of the civil war. Lucia, above 
mentioned as the wife of Philip Hull, resided in Ohio until she was 
fifteen years of age ; the following two years she was a resident of 
Oneida county. New York, after which she returned to Ohio where she 
taught school two terms. Sarah, born January 14, 1840, is the wife 
of David Aton, a resident of Ohio, where he follows the occupation of 
farmer ; he is a veteran of the civil war. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 79 

Six children were born to Philip and Lucia (Crosby) Hull, 
namely: i. William P., mentioned hereinafter. 2. Mary E., born 
January 25, 1855, died July 7, i860. 3. Charles J., mentioned at 
length hereinafter. 4. George E., mentioned hereinafter. 5. Fred R., 
born June 11, 1862, died September 23, 1884, at twenty years of age. 
6. An infant who died at the age of three weeks. Philip Hull, father 
of these children, accompanied his son, Dr. Charles J. Hull, abroad in 
the year 1885, and visited the old homestead in England, the trip 
extending over a period of several months. He has also traveled ex- 
tensively throughout different sections of the United States, thereby 
gaining a vast amoimt of experience of men and places. He is a man 
of wide reading and intelligence, and although beginning at the bottom 
of the ladder, amid many discouragements, is today one of the sub- 
stantial men of Jefferson county. He is of genial disposition, and the 
stranger is always sure of a warm welcome and cordial hospitality at 
the hands of Mr. and Mrs. Hull. Their portraits found on the adjoin- 
ing pages of this work will, it is felt, be a source of gratification to 
their many friends. 

(V) Wilham P. Hull, eldest child of Philip and Lucia (Crosby) 
Hull, was born October 7, 1855, in Westmortland, Oneida county, New 
York, and was in his seventeenth year when he came with his parents 
to West Carthage. He attended the public schools of that village, and 
a select school at Clinton, New York. Since then he has been almost 
continuously associated with his father in farming and business opera- 
tions. Since 1890 he has operated a greenhouse at West Carthage, 
growing vegetables chiefly for local markets, and is also an extensive 
dealer in fruits. He owns a small farm in Orleans county, on which 
are two thousand trees bearing various kinds of fruit, and he buys 
and sells the products of other growers. He is a Republican in politics, 
a village trustee, and a member of the West Carthage Fire Department. 
He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Foresters and the Car- 
thage Grange, in both of which organizations he has held official 
positions. 

On December i, 18S0, Mr. William P. Hull was married to Ella A. 
Clark, who was born in Lowville, daughter of Orrin S. and Hannah 
(PhiHips) Clark, the latter a daughter of Daniel Phillips, who lived to 
the age of one hundred and two years. Mr. and Mrs. Hull have a 
daughter, Lucia Ella Hull, born August i, 1888. 

(V) Charles J. Hull, M. D., second son of Philip and Lucia 



so GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

(Crosby) Huli, was torn June 2, 1857, near the village of Madison, 
Madison county, New York, and was thirteen years of age when the 
family settled at West Carthage. His primary education was supplied 
by the public schools, and he pursued a business course at Rochester, 
New York. Having decided to abandon a commercial career to become 
a healer of ills, he studied medicine at the Eclectic Medical College of 
the City of New York, from which he was graduated in 188 1. He 
began practicing medicine at Carthage, but soon removed to Croghan, 
New York, where he remained two years, and subsequently spent six 
years in his native town of Madison, practicing his profession and 
meeting with success. In 1885 he went to Europe, accompanied by his 
father, and pursued a course in therapeutics in the London hospitals, 
thus adding to his established efficiency as a physician. Since 1887 
he has been located in West Carthage, and his practice extends over a 
wide expanse in the surrounding country, in addition to a handsome 
office business. As a physician and citizen, he is highly regarded in 
the community. He is a member of the State and National Eclectic 
Medical Societies. He was formerly a member of the Board of Censors. 
He now holds membership in the Ivnights of Pythias and the Benevo- 
lent and Protective Order of Elks. Though not a politician, he takes 
an intelligent interest in the progress of his country and supports his 
principles by voting for Republican candidates. He has served in the 
capacity of health officer for the past seven years, and was recently re- 
appointed to serve until the year 1908. He attends religious worship 
at the Presbyterian church. 

Dr. Hull was married May 2, 1882, to Isabel Elizabeth Monroe, 
a great-granddaughter of General Moreau, who was active in and ren- 
dered important service to the American colonies in the Revolutionary 
struggle. With his wife and seven sons he settled in Canada, where 
the name was changed to Monroe. One of his sons, Michael Monroe, 
long a resident of Carthage, was a tanner by occupation, and died in 
Croghan. Lewis, son of Michael Monroe, was born in Carthage, Sep- 
tember 23, 1834, and died December 11, 1901, at Pierrepont Manor, 
where he spent his last twenty years. At fourteen years of age Lewis 
Monroe went to Watertown, and was employed as clerk in a store, 
but soon abandoned that pursuit to become a blacksmith, in which occu- 
pation he achieved success. After conducting shops at Ellisburg, Adams 
and Fayetteville, he settled at Pierrepont Manor, where he operated a 
wagon shop. He was a well-read man. and was very active in the 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 81 

Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His parents designed to have 
him enter the priesthood, but this plan was distasteful to him, so he 
ran away from home and made his own way, as indicated by the history 
of his career. His first wife, Elizabeth San Juel, was a native of Canada, 
and died in 1875. tie subsequently married Arvilla Beemis, a widow, 
who died in 1888. Four of his seven children survive, namely: Henry, 
the eldest, resides in California; William resides at Los Angeles, same 
state; Isabel Elizabeth, aforementioned as the wife of Dr. Charles J. 
Hull; and Frederick Monroe, a resident of Pierrepont Manor. 

(V) George E. Hull, third son of Philip and Lucia (Crosby) 
Hull, was born July 20, 1859. He attended Carthage high school, 
where he obtamed an excellent English education, and subsequently 
graduated from a commercial college in the city of Rochester, New 
York. After serving as clerk in a store in Carthage, he entered the New 
York Eclectic Medical College, from which he graduated in 1881. He 
practiced his profession m Carthage until a severe illness overtook him, 
which was the rc^sult of excessive work. He died at his home in Car- 
thage, August 22, 1884, at the age of twenty-five years. 

George E. Hull married Ella L. Caswell, of Carthage, New York, 
daughter of Osmond and Maria Caswell. Mr. and Mrs. George E. 
Hull were the parents of one son, George Daniel, born February 21, 
1884. He graduated from the school at Pulaski, and in 1902 entered 
the University at Buffalo. New York, from which institution he grad- 
uated with high honors in 1904. During the vacation period of his 
two years college course he was actively connected with the Rogers 
Pharmacy of Watertown. New York, and on the completion of his 
studies went to Salt Lake City, Utah, where he is engaged in the drug 
business. 

BABCOCK. This name is an old and honored one in Westerly, 
Rhode Island, where the family has dwelt for more than two and one- 
fourth centuries. Among those conspicuous in the colonial period were : 
Dr. Joshua Babcock, of Westerly, who was a major general in the mi- 
litia and chief justice ot the supreme court of Rhode Island; Colonel 
Henry Babcock, a participant in five campaigns of the old French war 
and an officer of the Revolution, who in the early part of that struggle 
was in command of the forces at Newport ; and Rev. Stephen Babcock, 
a distinguished divine and "New Light" leader. The name as it came 
from England was spelled Eadcock, and bearers of that name are still 



82 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

numerous in England, where four coats-of-arms are found, belonging 
to the family in different localities. 

(I) James Babcock, the progenitor of -the Westerly family, was 
born in 1612, and died in 1679. He is first of record in New England 
at Portsmouth, Rhode Island, in 1642. He settled his family in Wes- 
terly in 1662, being among the first settlers in that town. James Bab- 
cock was a prominent citizen in both towns and acted in various capa- 
cities as the agent or governor of the inhabitants. Both Massachusetts 
and Connecticut clamied jurisdiction over Westerly, which then in- 
cluded the present towns of Charlestown, Hopkinton and Richmond, 
and the settlers led strenuous lives in defending their lands from tres- 
passers, especially those from Connecticut, which colony did not finally re- 
linquish claims until 1728. James Babcock was twice married. His first 
wife, Sarali, bore him four children, and died about 1665. His second 
wife, Elizabeth, married after his death, September 22, 1679, William 
Johnson, and settled in the adjoining town of Stonington, Connecticut. 
His children were : James, John, Job, Mary, Nathaniel, Joseph and Eliz- 
abeth. 

(II) John Babcock, son of James and Sarah, was born at Ports- 
mouth, in 1644. He married Mary, daughter of George and Elizabeth 
(Hazard) Lawton. Tradition says that they eloped from Newport and 
settled among die friendly Indians on the east bank of Pawcatuck river, 
before the land had been purchased from the Indians or any movement 
made toward settling it. The fact that he was only eighteen years old 
when the lands were surveyed and first settled would seem to prove this 
untrue. He and his father were among the first eighteen selected by the 
colony of Newport to go upon and occupy these lands in March, 1662, 
then only recently purchased from the Indians. The town records show 
that in the apportionment, made in 1669 he received the twenty-seventh 
lot. His homestead near Avondale is still occupied by a lineal descend- 
ant. He served with the Connecticut militia in King Philip's war, most 
of the inhabitants of Westerly having fled to the island of Rhode Island 
at that time, and was in the "Great Swamp Fight." He was deputy to 
the general court in 1682 and 1684. He died early in 1685, and the 
inventory of hi? personal property placed its value at seven hundred and 
ninety pounds and three shillings. His widow married, April 21, 1698, 
Erasmus Babbitt, and died November 8, 171 1, in \\'esterly. John Bab- 
cock's children were : James, Ann. Mary, John. Job, George, Elihu, 
Robert, Joseph and Oliver. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 83 

(III) Captain John Babcock, second son of John and Mary, was 
born about 1668, m Westerly, was admitted a freeman February 13, 
1689, and died there Marcli 28, 1746. He lived about two miles east 
of Pawcatuck bridge, in a house afterward used as a hotel by Sylvester 
Gavitt. His wife Mary was his cousin, daughter of William and Mary 
(Babcock) Champlin (or Champlain), He served the town in many 
responsible capacities — assessor, clerk, fence viewer, surveyor, probate 
clerk, councilman and rate-maker; was town clerk from 1706 to 1732, 
when, he was succeeded by his son, William ; was deputy to the general 
assembly in 1695, 1702, 1713, '15, '17, '18, '20, '23-4-5-6; was justice 
of the peace from 1730 to 1737; and captain of militia in 1709, 'il, 
'15, '18-19-20-21 and '23. On May 19, 1710, with eleven others, he 
united in the purchase of 2,684 acres of land from the colony, known as 
the "Maxson purchase.'' His children were all bom in Westerly, as 
follows; John, May 4, 1701 ; Ichabod, November 21, 1703; Stephen, 
May 2, 1706; William, April 15, 1708; Amy, February 8, 1712-3; Mary, 
July 23, 1716; Ann, September 14, 1821. 

(IV) William, youngest son of John (2) and Mary (Champlin) 
Babcock. was born April 15, 1708, in Westerly, and died there January 
15, 1750-1. He was married at Seabrook, Connecticut (now Saybrook), 
August II, 1730, to Sarah Denison, of Mayflower descent, born Jan- 
uary 6, 1710, in Stonington, Connecticut (see Denison). After his 
death she married Stephen Chaucer, of Seabrook, being his fourth wife. 
William Babcock continued to serve as town clerk from the time he suc- 
ceeded his father in 1732 until his death. He was a farmer, justice of 
the peace, and represented the town in 1744. His children, born in 
Westerly, were; William, May 14, 1731 ; Joshua, December 2, 1732; 
Christopher, September 12, 1734; Sarah, October 17, 1736; Elijah, July 

19, 1738; Elias, July 28, 1740; Phmeas, September 14, 1747. 

I. John Howland, born 1592, came to Plymouth on the "May- 
flower" in 1620. His wife, Elizabeth Tilly, born 1607, came in the 
same vessel with her parents, John Tilly and wife. 2. Desire, daugh- 
ter of John and Elizabeth Howland, married Captain John Gorham in 
1643. The last-named was a son of Ralph Gorham, was born in Eng- 
land, and baptized at Benefield, Northamptonshire, January 28, 1621-2. 
He came to Massachusetts before 1743, and was captain of an expedi- 
tion against the Mount Hope Indians in 1675, dying the following year. 
3. Mercy, daughter of Captain John and Desire Gorham, born January 

20, 1659, married George Denison. junior, and died September 24, 1725. 



84 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

The last-named was the fourth child of George and Ann (Borodell) 
Denison, born in New London, 1653, and reared in Stonington (see 
Denison). He died December 27, 171 1. His fourth child, Samuel, 
born 1685. in Stonington, married Mary (Lay), widow of Christopher 
Miner, who bore him ten children. 5. The eldest of these, Sarah, be- 
came the wife of \\'illiam Babcock, as above related. 

(V) Christopher, third son and child of William and Sarah Bab- 
cock. was born September 12, 1734, in Westerly, and died March 15, 
181 5, in Smyrna. New York. In 1754 he married his step-sister, Me- 
hitable Chalker (sometimes written Chaucer or Chalkens), who was 
born September 9. 1733, in Saybrook, daughter of Stephen and Mehit- 
able (Chapman) Chalker, the former a descendant in the fourth gener- 
ation of General Alexander Chalker, one of the original proprietors of 
the town of Saybrook, who was killed in the Narragansett war. Chris- 
topher Babcock owned and occupied a farm near the seashore in Wes- 
terly, and was admitted a freeman by the general assembly in May, 
T758. He was justice of the peace in 1769, "79 and '83. In 1767 he was 
a lieutenant in Captain Champlain's train band of Westerly militia. His, 
wife died in 1810, and diree years later, he accompanied his youngest 
son to Smyrna, New York, where he was buried. His children were: 
William. Amy, Joshua, Christopher, Sarah, Eunice, Jeremiah, Asa, 
Wealthy, Stephen, Eiias. Phineas and Asa (2). 

(VI) Jeremiah, son of Christopher and Mehitabie Babcock, was 
born November 23, 1766, in Westerly, and died April 9, 1847, in Cham- 
pion, New York, in his eighty-first year. He was married January 

■^',"1792. to Amy, daughter of William Angell. She was born April 4, 
1766, in Exeter. New York, and died February 17, 1835, in Champion. 
For many years he lived in the southeastern part of Madison county, this 
state, evidently in different towns, at different times, as his children ap- 
pear to have been born in three towns. He was an early resident of 
Champion, and had a farm not far from the center of that town. His 
children were ten in number, Christopher, born October 13, 1792, mar- 
ried Susan Crandall, and (2) Janetle McNeil, and lived on a farm near 
his father in Qiampion, where he died June 28, 1869. Elias, August 
20, 1794. married Sarah Angell, was a farmer in Champion, where he 
died March 11, 1859. Joshua is the subject of a following paragraph. 
Drusilla, September 2, 1797, married James R. Perigo. and moved to 
Illinois, where she died. James, February 5, 1799, died young. Am- 
brose Spencer, December 2, 1800, died December 28, 1891, in Champion, 




i/fT^zl^eLU^:^ 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 85 

where he settled about 1824. James, February 24, 1803, died young. 
Jeremiah, November 9, 1804, married JuHa Francis, was a blacksmith 
at Fe!t"s Mills and Cartnage, dying at the latter place April 9, 1847. 
Amy A., November 23, 1806, married Benejah Lewis and lived in Den- 
mark, New York, and died March 24, 1894, in Champion. William P. 
is the subject of a succeeding paragraph. 

(VII; Joshua Angell Babcock, third son and child of Jeremiah 
and Amy, was born February 10, 1796. in Hamilton, New York, and 
died March 23, 1843, s* Felt's Mills, this county. He was married at 
Hamilton, July 24, 1820, to Laura, daughter of Chandler Holmes, born 
September 2, 1793, in Hartland, Vermont. She passed away December 
29, 1845. ^t Felt's Mills. About 1822 Joshua A. Babcock moved from 
IMadison county, this state, to Felt's Mills, where he engaged in mercan- 
tile business and there ended his days. He inherited the sturdy traits 
for which his ancestors were noted, and was a successful business man. 
He received a fair education and engaged in teaching for some years 
in early life. For some time before his death his eldest son was a partner 
with him in mercantile business and lumbermg, and much of the care of 
his affairs was surrendered to the latter owing to failing health of the 
senior. Joshua A. Babcock was a prominent member of the Methodist 
church at Felt's Mills, and also served as justice of the peace. His chil- 
dren were: Henry H., mentioned farther in following paragraphs; 
Amy, died in infancy; Perley J., born August 31, 1836, died August 
24, 1S63; Martha L., died at one year old; George D., born October 6, 
1834, resides in Mexico, New York. 

(VIII) Henry Holmes Babcock, eldest child of Joshua A. and 
Laura (Holmes) Babcock. was born March 28, 1821. in Hamilton, New 
York, and died November 30, 1903. at the home of his daughter, Mrs. 
Anson R. Flower, in New York. He had few early advantages and re- 
ceived his education in the common schools at Felt's Mills. On attain- 
ing man's estate, he engaged in the mercantile and lumber business with 
his father at Felt's Mills, where he operated a saw mill, marketing his 
product in Albany. In 1842 he moved to Watertown, where he pur- 
chased a parcel of land upon which he built houses for sale. This en- 
terprise was of service in building up the city and yielded satisfactory 
returns, and in 1845 be invested some of his capital in the manufac- 
ture of wooden pumps. These found a ready market in this section and 
the business grew to large dimensions. In 1878 he turned his attention 
to the manufacture of wagons and buggies, and the energy and execu- 



86 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

ti\'e ability which had built up his previous undertakings soon began 
to tell in the new field. As fast as his sons arrived at the proper age, after 
being carefully educated and trained in business methods, they were made 
partners in the business and were of material aid in extending it. Four 
years after the establishment of this undertaking, during which it had 
been conducted under the style of H. H. Babcock & Sons, it had taken 
a prominent place among the industries of Watertown and attracted the 
attention of capitalists. In 1882 a corporation was formed under the 
name of H. H. Babcock Company, with a capital of one hundred thou- 
sand dollars, the incorporators being Mr. Babcock and his three sons — 
Herbert P., George H. and Fred W. Babcock — and Roswell P. and An- 
son R. Flower. A large factory building was erected at this time, and 
constant additions have been found necessary, as the trade increased, 
until the plant now comprises five large shops and seven storage build- 
ings. Honest workmanship upon honest material have given confidence 
in the product of this establishment to the trade, and the growth in de- 
mand for its product continues to extend wherever high-class carriages 
are in use, the market extending around the world. Henry H. Babcock 
was made president of the company upon its organization and so con- 
tinued unttl his death. There can be no doubt that its growth was due 
chiefly to his genius for developing industries. He was always a friend 
to his employes, with w'hom he held frequent converse, and he was 
looked to by them as a father, often aiding in settling their diiTerences 
and difficulties and ever maintaining a sincere interest in their welfare. 
As a consecjuence there were no strikes in his shops, growth and devel- 
opment has been steady and continuous, and the output of 1904 prom- 
ises to reach seven thousand carriages. Three hundred and fifty men 
are steadily employed, and there are no dull seasons. The growth of this 
great concern and its character continue to be a source of local pride. 

Mr. Babcock was one of nature's noblemen, kind-hearted, genial 
and frank, and was respected and loved in every relation of life. He 
served as supervisor several terms and as mayor of the city. He was one 
of the most earnest and valued communicants of Trinity (Protestant 
Episcopal) church, and was one of it? wardens for thirty years. A Dem- 
ocrat in politics, he did not carry his partisanship to unreasonable ex- 
tremes, and made no enemies among those who opposed him politically. 

Mr. Babcock was married, November 25, 1841, to Eliza Wheeler, 
daughter of Joel B. Wheeler, of Felt's Mills. ]Mrs. Babcock died in 
June. 19C0. Of her ei.shl children, six are now living: ]\Iarion R. is 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 87 

the wife of L. O. Woodruff, of Cape Vincent, New York (see L. O. 
Woodruff) ; George H. is the subject of a following paragraph. Ida 
married Anson R. Flower, and resides much of the time in New York 
city. Adella B. is the wnfe of Richard S. Hungerford, residing in Wa- 
tertown. Fred W. is mentioned at length hereinafter. Frank Ernest 
is assistant secretary of the H. H. Babcock Compsny, and resides in 
Watertown, a bachelor. 

(IX) Herbert Perley Babcock, eldest son of Henry H. and Eliza 
Babcock, lived to take an active part in the organization of the H. H. 
Babcock Company, but his promising young life was soon thereafter 
ended. He was born November 24, 1845, in Watertown, and finished 
his education at Geneva, New York. As soon as he left school he be- 
came associated with his father in business, and so continued until his 
death, in his thirty-ninth year. Upon the formation of the H. H. Bab- 
cock Company in 1S84 he was elected secretary, but failing health com- 
pelled him to resign the duties of that position to his assistant almost 
immediately. During the last three years of his life he traveled much 
in hope of recuperatmg his health, but the end came April 24, 1884, at 
Riverside, California. He was among the faithful communicants of 
Trinity church, and was widely admired and respected for his kind and 
amiable disposition. A perfect gentleman in every relation of life, he 
enjoyed the regard of all classes of people, and his early demise was a 
cause of grief to many and a cruel blow to his family. Of studious and 
industrious habits, he was much devoted to his family, and gave close 
attention to the business affairs with which he was identified, and was 
but fairly launched upon a most successful business career when fail- 
ing health compelled him to abandon all activities. 

Mr. Babcock was married, October 14, 1875, to Rose Monroe, of 
Sangerfield, New York, a daughter of John and Marietta (Priest) 
Monroe. A son was born to this union April 21, 1879, ^"d christened 
Henry Herbert. He graduated at Yale College in 1901, entered the law 
school of Columbia University the following year, and graduated in 
the class of 1904. He was admitted to the bar in 1903. Mrs. Babcock 
because the wife of Joseph Mullin. whom she survives (see MuUin). 

(IX) George Henry, second son of H. H. Babcock, was born Octo- 
ber 25, 1852, in Watertown. He was educated in the public schools of 
the city, and in 1870 became a clerk in the private bank of Wooster 
Sherman, in which position he continued nearly two years. About the 
close of 1 87 1 he was taken into his father's business, and has been treas- 



88 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

urer and manager of tlie H. H. Babcock Company since its organiza- 
tion. He is connected witli otiier financial enterprises of the city, and 
has ahvays been prominent m its social life. When a young man he was 
foreman of Company No. 3 of the local fire department, a service of 
which he may justly be proud. He was one of the organizers of the 
Watertown Savings Bank, and has been a trustee of that institution 
since its beginning. He was one of the organizers and first trustees of 
the Watertown Building Association, and is a trustee of the Flower Me- 
morial Library. Long time a member of the Trinity church, he was one 
of the founders and first president of the New City Hospital, and was for 
a time president of the Union club. 

His wife, who was Alice L. Webster, daughter of Levi Webster, 
of St. Albans, Vermont, is a representative of old New England fami- 
lies. Her mother, Ellen L. Meech, belonged to one of the first and most 
di.stinguislied families of Chittenden county, Vermont. 

(LX) Frederick William Babcock, third son of H. H. Babcock, 
is a native of Wateito\\n, born April 26, 1S58, and a true exponent of 
the character for which this family is noted, being well known for even 
temper, keen perception, business probity, energetic application and 
genial nature. His primary education was supplied by the public schools 
of his native city, and was supplemented by a course at Hamilton Pre- 
paratory School and at St. John's Military School at Manlius, New York, 
from which latter institution he was graduated in 1876. For a year or 
more following he was a clerk in the hardware store of Belknap and 
Phelps, of Watertown, and was then admitted to partnership with his 
father, whose able assistant he continued thereafter. Upon the incor- 
poration of the H. H. Babcock Company he was elected assistant secre- 
tary, his eldest brother, Herbert P. Babcock, being secretary. The last- 
named was obliged to go away in search of health almost immediately, 
and the duties of secretary have been performed by the subject of this 
paragraph ever since. He has borne well his part in building up the 
great business of the concern, which is still growing, as a result of the 
close application and business ability of its managers. Since the death 
of the elder brother, Frederick W. Babcock, he has been secretary. 

He is also well known in the social life of the town, being one of 
the organizers of the Union Club, of which he was the second president. 
He is a Knight Templar Mason, affiliating with Watertown Command- 
ery, and is also a member of Media Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, 
in \\hich he has served as chief rabban. For nianv vears he has been 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 8y 

a communicant of Trinity church and, hke all of his family, gives 
allegiance to the Democratic party in politics. He has served many times 
as inspector of election, has been secretary and treasurer of the Black 
River Power Association since its organization (and which was incor- 
porated in September, 1S94), and is one of the four commissioners of 
water power on Black river, acting under authority of the state, having 
been appointed by Governor Flower when the law creating this commis- 
sion went into effect in 1894, and successively appointed by succeeding 
governors. He is one of the original members of Company C, Thirty- 
fifth Battalion National Guard of New York, and served the required 
period as a commissioned officer of the same. 

Mr. Babcock was married, September 27, 1881, to Miss Elizabeth 
Haas, who was born in New York city, January 7, i860, daughter of 
Frederick Haas, of German ancestry. She died February 28, 1895, and 
left a son and daughter. Frederick Howard, born March 4, 1887, is 
now a midshipman in the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, 
Maryland, and making good progress toward promotion. Alice Eliz- 
abeth, August 31, 1888, is a student at the Watertown high school. 

On December 2, 1897, Mr. Babcock was married to Miss Ida M. 
Willey, who was born Ji.ine 12, i860, in Syracuse, and is an active par- 
ticipant in the work of Trinity parish. 

(VII) William Powers Babcock, youngest child of Jeremiah and 
Amy (Angell) Babcock, born September 2, 1809, in Exeter, New York, 
received his education in the common schools and came to Champion 
with his father, succeeding to the paternal farm below Champion Hud- 
dle, where he died. A cheese factory now marks the location of the 
farm. He attended the Methodist church, at first in Champion village 
and later on the Felt's Mills road. A Democrat in politics, he filled sev- 
eral of the town offices, such as highway commissioner and assessor. 
He was married, November 25, 1830, to Roxy Lewis, a native of Cham- 
pion, daughter of Esquire Eseck Lewis, a highly respected citizen, long 
time a magistrate of that town. The children of William P. and Roxy 
Babcock were: William Augustus, now a farmer between Great Bend 
and Champion ; Esther, who married Samuel McNeil, and subsequently 
Elisha Greenfield, and died in Champion ; Lysander W., now a resident 
of West Carthage, and Elizur and Eliza, twins. The former of these 
is a resident of Syracuse, and the latter died at the age of twenty years. 

(VIII) Lysander Whitfield Babcock was born March 17, 1836, 
in the to\\n of Champion, where he grew up. Though his education was 



90 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

supplied only by the common school of the neighborhood, he is a capable 
business man and has been successful as a farmer. He cared for his 
parents in their old age, then purchased a farm, which he continued to till 
until 1885, when he bought a house on Bridge street, West Carthage, 
and moved there to reside. Since that time he has engaged in buying 
and shipping cattle and other stock to the city markets, with satisfactory 
results. With his family he attends the Congregational church, in which 
he has been a trustee a number of years, and is a Democrat in politics. 
He has served several years as a trustee of the village of West Carthage, 
and also as president. This fact arose not from ambition for political 
honors, but from a disposition to fulfill his duty as a citizen. 

Mr. Babcock was married, November 10, 1857, to Miss Mary 
Jane Merrill, who was born January i, 1837, in Champion, a daughter 
of William and Abigail (Locklin) Merrill (of whom sketch is found 
elsewhere in this work), both representatives of pioneer families of 
Champion. Of six children born of this marriage, the second, Hubert 
H., born December 19, 1863, died May 5, 1864. The others are: Will- 
iam Alfred, a farmer of Champion, father of one child, Mildred E. ; 
Nettie, wife of William Phillips, of Battle Creek, Michigan, and they 
have one child, Ruth M ; Lida M. and' Lizzie A. (twins), the former 
now the wife of Reuben Chaufty, and they have one child, Wilma A., 
and the latter the widow of Thomas C. Williams, all of West Carthage; 
and Alfreda (Mrs. Edgar Harrington), of Carthage, who is the mother 
of one child, Gerald L. 

(IX) William Alfred Babcock was born February 7, i860, on his 
father's farm in the western part of the town of Champion. When he 
was eight years old his father mo\'ed to the farm which he now owns, 
east of Champion Huddle. He attended the district school at the Hud- 
dle until he was seventeen years of age, giving his ti'me in the summer 
season to such duties as fall upon the farmer's son. Agriculture has al- 
ways claimed his attention as a means of occupation and support, and he 
has achieved success through industry and intelligent application. After 
tilling the present farm for some years he bought one hundred and 
eighty acres of it in 1895, and has rented it since 1899. A dairy embrac- 
ing about thirty cows is kept upon the place. He is a member of Great 
Bend Grange, and attends the Congregational church at West Carthage. 
He is a Democrat, but no politician, 

Mr. Babcock was married, October i, 1884, to Miss Theresa Wag- 
ner, who was born in New York City, a daughter of Henry and Eliza- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 91 

beth Wagner, who came from Germany and now reside with a son at 
Canastota, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Babcock have a daughter, Mil- 
dred Ehzabeth, now fourteen years old. 

(VIII) William Augustus Babcock, son of William P. Babcock, 
was born July 2, 1832, on his father's farm below Champion Huddle, 
where he grew to manhood, and continued at home until he was twenty- 
five years old. In boyhood he attended the district school, and subse- 
quently was a student in a select school taught by John Winslow at 
Watertown. Being industrious and economical he was enabled at the 
age of twenty-five years to engage in business on his own account. ( io- 
ing to Carthage he purchased the clothing business of H. D. Brown, 
which he conducted five years in partnership with Sylvester Fritz, un- 
der the title of Babcock and Fritz. At the end of that period John \V. 
Clark purchased the interest of Mr. Fritz, and for eight and one-half 
years the business was conducted under the style of Babcock & Clark. 
Selling his interest to Mr. Clark, who still continues the business, Mr. 
Babcock retired from mercantile affairs. In 1875 he bought seventy- 
four acres of land where he now lives, between Champion village and 
the Huddle, and has since made his home there. Until recently he gave 
his attention to its cultivation, and it is now managed by his son. A 
dairy of fifteen cows is maintained, including fine Ayrshire and Durham 
grades. During his residence in Carthage, Mr. Babcock was a vestry- 
man of Grace Episcopal church, and has served in the same capacity in 
St. John's church of Champion, with which he holds membership. He 
is a member of Great Bend Grange, and has always been a Democrat, 
but has steadfastly refused to be a candidate for town offices. 

He was married, March, 1857, to Emeline O. Mott, who died 
March 8, 1858. On the 23d of January, 1862, Mr. Babcock was mar- 
ried to Adelia W. Wright, who was born November 16, 1831, in Dur- 
ham, Greene county. New York, a daughter of Benjamin and Rhoda 
(Dann) Wright. Her mother died when she was eight years old, and 
she was reared by an elder sister, wife of George S. Whitney, in Cham- 
pion. A daughter born to Mr. and Mrs. Babcock and named Eva E., 
died when eleven years old. Their son (IX) Frederick A., resides with 
his parents. He was born April 30, 1865, and married Caroline W. 
Knowles, of Champion. They have no children. 

FREDERICK JESSE BABCOCK, superintendent of the Dexter 
Sulphite Mill, is a native of the town of Brownville, born at Dexter, 
June 13, 1871. His ancestors were among the founders of the colony 



92 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

of Rhode Island, and their liistory is exhaustively treated in this work. 
Under the head of Babcock will be found an account of the first two 
generations, and this article will proceed from the third. 

(Ill) George, sixth child and fourth son of John and Mary (Law- 
ton) Babcock, was born 1673, in Westerly, Rhode Island, and died May 
I, 1756, at South Kingston, same colony, in his eighty-third year. He 
was married, November 28, 1694, to Elizabeth, daughter of Henry and 
Content Hall, 01 that town, where she died May 8, 1762, in her ninety- 
first year. Tradition says that soon after his marriage he sought to 
give his wife a practical illustration of the happy results attained when 
husband and wile pull together. Tlirowing a long rope over his house 
he remained at one end and sent his wife to pull the rope over from 
the other end. This she essayed in vain to do several times. He then 
called her to his side, and asked her to help him pull it over — a very 
easy task under the circumstances. A year and one-half after his mar- 
riage his mother gave him a tract of land in Westerly, which he sold to 
his brother ten years later. June 28, 1709, he was one of twenty-seven 
who purchased a large tract from the colony of Rhode Island, in King- 
ston and Westerly, known as the "Shannock purchase." His portion 
was laid out in Westerly, in what was afterward Hopkinton and Rich- 
mond. He was deputy to the general court in 171 6 and 1721, and served 
many years as justice of the peace, being frequently called upon to per- 
form the marriage ceremony. In June, 1707, he was baptized and joined 
the Seventh Day Baptist church of Newport and Westerly, and his wife 
joined the same church July 20 following. All his life he was a prom- 
inent member of that society, and left it a legacy of three hundred 
pounds on his death. His will disposed of several farms and a large 
amount of personal property, including thousands of pounds in money. 
His wife received his "negro gall. Peg," and his son David, beside the 
homestead farm, a "negro man, Bristo, and woman, Geney." Upon her 
death his widow left eight children, sixty-one grandchildren, and in all 

140 descendants, all of whom lived in the colony, except one grand- 
daughter and her children. 

(IV) David, second son and third child of George and Elizal)eth 
Babcock, was born December 22, 1700, in Westerly, Rhode Island, and 
died in South Kingston, 1783, like his father, in his eighty-third year. 
On February 24, 1730, he was married by his father, to Dorcas, daugh- 
ter of Daniel and Dorcas (Gardner) Brown, who was born May 23, 

171 V in Wcstorlv. and died December 18, 1798, in South Kingston. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 93 

His will mentions ten children. To each of the daughters he gave per- 
sonal property ; to each of his sons a farm, and to the son of a deceased 
son a farm. His wife received, among other personal property, two 
negro women, "Phyllis" and "Coocoo." His silver tankard was re- 
served for his oldest son, the widow receiving all the rest of the family 
plate. This tankard has been preserved and is now the property of 
Mrs. Horace E. Horton of Clucago, a daughter of George and Emily 
(Brown) Babcock. 

(V) David, eldest child of David and Dorcas Babcock, was born 
April lo, 1734, at South Kingston. He was married, at Charlestown, 
March 30, 1757, to Sarah Perry, daughter of Samuel and Suzannah 
(Hazzard) Perry, born at Charlestown, March 30, 1738. Her sister 
married Elisha Babcock, an uncle of David. The last-named was ad- 
mitted freeman in May, 1756, at North Kingston, and in 1758 was en- 
sign in Captain John Wilson's company of South Kingston militia. He 
became a sailor, and late in life went to Otsego county, New York, 
with his sons. He had nine children. 

(VI) David, eldest child of David and Sarah (Perry) Babcock, 
was bom May 17, 1760, in South Kingston, and died November 17, 1831. 
He was married, at Sharon, Connecticut, to Sarah, daughter of John and 
Deborah (Knickerbocker) Beardsley. She was born September 2, 1765, 
at Sharon, and died in 1836, in Ames, New York. According to the 
family records David Babcock was a revolutionary soldier. His family 
included six children. 

(VH) Jesse, fifth child and third son of David and Sarah (Beards- 
ley) Babcock, was born October 16, 1805, in Marcy, New York, and 
died December 8, 1885, in Dexter, this county. He was married at 
New Hartford, Ne-w York, September 26, 1831, to Maria Morgan, who 
died June 14, 1854, in Dexter. She was the mother of his five chil- 
dren. He was an early resident of Brownville, where he bought a site 
and operated a flour mill and feed store. He also engaged in farming 
and established and operated a lime kiln. He was an industrious and 
energetic man and pursued sucessfully several lines of efifort. For his 
second wife, Mr. Babcock married Sarah A. Baker, a native of Dexter, 
and a lady of superior education and refinement. She survived her hus- 
band and died m 1904, in Salem, Oregon. Two of his children are now 
living — Elizabeth, the wife of Sanford Herrick, of San Francisco, Cal- 
ifornia, and William, a resident of Denver, Colorado. 

(Vni) George, second son and fourth child of Jesse and Maria 



^4 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Babcock. was born January 3, 1844, in Dexter, and died there in 1879. 
He was reared and educated in Dexter, and in early life became con- 
nected with the flour and feed business, and in the operation of the mill 
for grinding the same. He continued to conduct it for a number of years, 
but at the time of the Civil war put aside business affairs in order to 
serve his country, becoming a private of the Tenth New York Heavy 
Artillery. He was with this command until the close of the w^ar and 
participated in the battle of Gettysburg, one of the most sanguinary 
engagements of that great conflict. Following the close of hostilities 
he returned to Dexter and assumed the management of the mill, which 
he continued to operate in connection with the conduct of his farms. 
He also became a breeder and a dealer in high-grade horses, and this 
branch of iiis business proved profitable, as did the conduct of his two 
farming properties, each of which comprised fifty acres. He was an 
active and enterprising business man, but died at the comparatively 
early age of thirty-eight years. His wife, who bore the maiden name 
of Lenora Fluno, was born in Dexter in 1848. Her father, David 
Fluno, v/as one of the early settlers here, active in community affairs 
and highly respected because of his genuine worth in business and pri- 
vate life. George Babcock served as a custom house officer for a num- 
ber of years and was a well known member of the Grand Army of the 
Republic. Mrs. Babcock still survives and is now living in Dexter. 
In their family were three children : Frederick J., Charles and Mary. 
The daughter *is now the wife of William Hicks, of Pennsylvania. 
Charles is a foreman of the Hopper-Morgan tablet works at Glen Park. 
Frederick J. Babcock, born at Dexter, June 13, 1871, spent his early 
boyhood days m his parents' home in Dexter, pursued his studies in 
the public schools and entered upon his business career as a salesman in 
the store of Clark Brothers, hardware dealers of Dexter, wdiere he re- 
mained for three years. He was afterward with O. M. and G. W. 
Wood, of the same place, for five years. He then entered the sulphite 
mill, begining at the lowest department, working upon the screens. 
By his industry and manifest ability he has worked his way upw-ard 
through all departments, until he became superintendent in 1901. He 
now has one hundred and fifty men under his personal supervision, and 
his entire attention is directed to the careful conduct of the interests of 
the departments. In his relations with tho.se wdio sei-ve under him he 
is most just and considerate and, therefore, has the entire confidence and 
good will of all. Mr. Babcock is a Repul>lican in political views, and 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 95 

socially is connected with the Red Men and other fraternal organizations 
in Dexter. His church relationship is with the Presbyterian denomina- 
tion. 

In 1895 Mr. Babcock was married to Miss Ada Schwartz, who was 
born in Pillar Point in 1S79, a daughter of Adolphus Schwartz, who 
was a teacher and later a carpenter, and was born in St. Lawrence 
county, New York, in 1845. He married Mary Carpenter, who was 
bom in 184S, and they became the parents of six children, five of whom 
are now living: Alda, the wife of DeWitt Sturtevant, of Croton, New 
York ; William, a prominent physician of Croton ; Mrs. Babcock ; Rose, 
the wife of William Ross, of Watertown, New York; and Harold, who 
is living with his sister in Croton. Of this family Tilly has passed away. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Babcock has been born but one child, George Adol- 
phus, born August 11, 1899. 

MERRILL. From the earliest period of its settlement the name 
of Merrill, of old colonial origin, has been identified with the history 
of Jefferson county, and its members have borne their share of the bur- 
dens in establishing civilization and in defense of the country when 
threatened with disruption. 

1. Nathaniel Merrill, the immigrant ancestor, was born in Eng- 
land about 1610, and arrived on the Massachusetts coast in 1633-4. He 
was one of the original proprietors and settlers (in 1635) of Newbury, 
Massachusetts, v.'here he died March 16, 1655. His wife, Susannah, is 
supposed to have been a daughter of Gregory Witterton, and sister of 
Gregory Witterton, of Hartford. Connecticut. Having no heir, the latter 
adopted her son John, and made him his heir. She married a second 
time late in life, and died July 2, 1673, in Newbury. 

2. John Merrill, son of Nathaniel, was born in 1635 in Newbury, 
settled at Hartford in 1656, and died there July 18, 17 12. He was a 
farmer, and tanner and currier by trade. In 1663 he married Sarah, 
daughter of John and Margaret Waters, of Hartford. 

3. Daniel, son of John and Sarah Merrill, was born June 15, 1673, 
in Hartford, where he lived and died in 1750. January 18, 1698, he 
married Susannah, daughter of John and Hannah (Boody) Pratt, of 
Hartford, where she was born October 2, 1680. 

4. Moses Merrill, son of Daniel and Susannah, was born December 
25, 1702, at Hartford, and lived in West Hartford and Farmington, dy- 
ing in the latter town (which adjoins West Hartford) August 4, 1776, 



96 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

in his seventy-fourth year. He was married at West Hartford, his wife 
being a Cook by name. By occupation he was a farmer. 

5. Moses, son of Moses Merrill (i). was born about 1733 at West 
Hartford, was a farmer there, and died there in 1796. His second 
wife was Waitstill Heth, who was born about 1744. Their children 
were: Samuel, born June 21, 1774, died at Sandisfield, Massachusetts. 
Mary, February 29, 1776, married Samuel Rowley. Waitstill, June i, 
1778, married Nicholas Lewis, of Champion, this county. Miner, Au- 
gust 25, 1781, came to Champion in the spring of 1804. Moses Cook, 
June 3, 1785. Elizabeth, 1790, died before she was ten years old. 

6. Miner, son of Moses (2) and Waitstill Merrill, married Betsey 
Cody, of Tolland, Connecticut, October 6, 1803, and the following 
spring came to Champion from Connecticut, bringing his wife and house- 
hold goods on a sled drawn by a yoke of oxen, with a horse in the lead. 
Their children were Betsey, William, Waty, Mary Maria, Orson, Allen 
and Albert A. 

7. Orson Merrill, born September 16, 1809, in Champion, lived all 
his life in that town. He was married. March 26. 1835, to Emeline 
Fitts, who was born April 19, 181 1 and died July 19, 1880. He died 
Febniary 16, 1896. Their children were Harlan O., Emily M., and Se- 
ward W. 

8. Seward W. Merrill, born November 22, 1850, is the only sur- 
vivor of his father's children. He was married, October 7, 1885, to 
Eva L. Martin, who was born February 16, i860, and died Decem- 
ber 27, 1901. Their children are: Lucille Emily, born May i, 1887; 
Vera Anna, September 4, 1891, and Emeline Charille, March 3, 1894. 
Mr. Merrill has been very active in church and Sunday school work 
and in the temperance cause. He is one of the handful of sterling souls 
who maintain the organization of the Prohibition party in Champion 
and the county. He was six years excise commissioner and ten years 
president of the Champion Temperance Union. He has been the candi- 
date of his party for supervisor, school commissioner, surrogate and 
member of the assembly. 

6. Moses Cook Merrill, son of Moses (2), was born June 3, i/'85, 
in West Hartford, Connecticut, and came to Champion about 1804. He 
settled one and one-half miles from the present village of Great Bend, 
where he died in 1839. He married Philena Crandall, a daughter of 
Abel and Elizabeth Crandall, early pioneers of Champion. After Mr. 
Merrill's death his widow lived in Champion, where she died in 1856. 




C^M-.^^ei^ 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 97 

Mr. Merrill was a member of the Baptist church. Of his fourteen chil- 
dren, two died in infancy. A brief record of the others follows: 

Waitstill married Wilder Reed, and died in the town of Philadel- 
phia, near Sterlmgville. For history of the second see following para- 
graph. Miner C. lived and died on the homestead, being supervisor of 
the town at the time of his death. Samuel died in West Carthage. 
Eliza died in Champion, unmarried, as did also Lucretia, the sixth. Sibyl 
married Ira Sweet, and died at Lynhurst, Canada. Harriet died in 
Hammond, St^ Lawrence county, while the wife of JosepTTtafevev^and 
JohirTtKeTiext, also died there. Athelia became the wife of Rev. Jonathan 
Dake, a Protestant Methodist clergyman, and now resides at Stam- 
bough, Iowa. Mary Sophronia is Mrs. Samuel Phillips, of Hammond, 
New York; now deceased. Eveline married Ronastus Sliter, and died 
at Lynhurst, Canada. 

7. Lawrence Cook Merrill, second child and eldest son of Moses 
Ccok Merrill, was born in 181 1, in Champion, and died in that town 
in November, 1849. He settled while a young man in Antwerp, at the 
present Keene's Station, where he labored diligently to clear up and 
develop a farm. He was on the way to prosperity when he was seriously 
injured by a pair of wild steers while hauling a load of wood to a poor 
man. He was never afterward able to straighten his limbs, and en- 
dured much pain for a period of eleven years, until death ended his 
sufferings. With the fortitude of a noble character he did not com- 
plain, but bore his misery calmly, and went about any duties that he was 
able to perform. Returning to Champion, he spent his last years 
among friends. It was his wont when no conveyance was convenient 
to walk to Great Bend to church, with his hands resting on his knees, in 
a stooping position, bemg unable to walk erect. He was a faithful 
member of the Baptist church, and affiliated with the Whig party in pol- 
itics. He was married, in the spring of 1834, to Lovina Miller, who 
was born on Martin street, near West Carthage, a daughter of Moses 

and (Martin) Miller, natives of Vermont. The last-named 

was a daughter of Captain Martin, a revolutionary soldier, who reached 
the age of ninety-seven years. His wife attained the same age. Mr. 
and Mrs. Merrill were the parents of two sons, Erwin Moses and Sam- 
uel Lawrence. 

8. Erwin Moses Merrill, eldest son of Lawrence M. Merrill, was 
born October 16, 1836, in Antwerp, and was a small child when his 



98 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

father died. He grew up in Champion, attending the district school 
and Carthage Academy, and subsequently teaching school. 

He enlisted in October, 1861, in Company I, Ninety-fourth Regi- 
ment New York Volunteers, and was elected second lieutenant. After 
tlie first battle of Bull Run, his weight being reduced from one hundred 
and seventy to one hundred and seven pounds, he was incapacitated to 
such a degree that it was advisable to resign in order to recuperate, and 
this he did, September 13, 1862. While recovering his health he en- 
tered General Casey's militai-y school in Philadelphia to perfect himself 
in military science, and after his graduation he was commissioned by 
President Lincoln, June 6, 1864, to a captaincy in the regular army. 
Then occurred one of the strange coincidences of war. About the same 
time Captain Merrill started for Washington, his brother, Dr. S. L. 
Merrill, had departed for Nashville, Tennessee, expecting to obtain a 
hospital appointment through the aid of an influential friend. While 
en route Dr. Merrill met his friend, who was on his way north, and 
who informed him that the desired position only awaited his arrival. 
However, on reaching Nashville, Dr. Merrill found that the place had 
been filled. In this discouragement he noticed, while passing down the 
street, a sign. "Contract Surgeons Wanted," and he made his applica- 
tion, passed the examination, and was assigned to the charge of a ward 
in the hospital. Meantime his brother. Captain Merrill, who had re- 
ported at Washmgton for assignment to duty, found himself appointed 
to the command of Company K, Seventeenth Regiment United States 
Infantry, and, to his great joy and surprise received an order to proceed 
to Nashville, Tennessee. He at once wrote his brother that he was com- 
ing, and on reaching his destination inquired the location of the hos- 
pital, and was informed that it was "over near where the Seventeenth 
(his own regiment) was encamped." As he passed along he saw his 
brother standing in his tent door, reading the letter which the Captain 
had sent him. Their mutual pleasure in thus meeting in indescribable. 
The brothers were near each other during the remainder of the war. 

The Seventeenth was then commanded by Colonel William R. 
Shafter, who afterwards attained high rank, and distinguished him- 
self during the Spanish-American war. Captain Merrill became Col- 
onel Shaffer's favorite officer on account of his steady habits, exem- 
plary conduct and entire reliability. At first the Captain was unpop- 
ular with his brother officers because of his refusal to join them in their 
carousals. Complaint being made to Colonel Shafter, he replied : "Oh, 




First Presbyterian Clnirch, Waterto 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 101 

well, Merrill doesn't drink as much whisky as the rest of you fellows, 
but his company is the best drilled and equipped company in the regi- 
ment." The feeling against him was soon dissipated, and Captain Mer- 
rill became popular with his brother officers as soon as they discerned 
that his conduct was a matter of principle and not priggishness. Decem- 
ber 14 he was with General Steedman's division, and on the next day 
participated in the splendid charge upon the rebel works at Nashville. 
In this desperate engagement the regiment lost two captains and four- 
teen men killed and sixty-four wounded. Captain Merrill had several 
narrow escapes. A bullet passed through both lapels of his coat in front, 
and this uniform he brought home with him. In the same battle a ball 
severed his canteen strap behind his shoulder. December 16 he took 
part in the charge at Overton's Hills, where his regiment captured two 
batteries and compelled Hood to retreat, thus turning the scale of the 
important series of battles at Nashville. He was with the pursuit of 
the discomfited but yet courageous rebel army, going as far as Leighton, 
Alabama,, and during this severe march in midwinter endured severe 
fatigues ind privations. 

After the surrender of General Lee, the war now being ended, 
Captain Merrill was given command of two companies and instiiicted 
to gather up government and captured property. While thus engaged 
an incident which occurred while he was marching through the con- 
quered territory well illustrates the bitter feeling that existed among 
the people, and how severe and manly need be the struggle to heal the 
wounds and allay the asperities engendered by the battling of brothers 
against brothers and neighbors against neighbors. In one small town 
Captain Merrill quartered his men in a stone mill just outside the village. 
It was a legal holiday, and orders were issued limiting the men to but 
few drinks that day. One of the soldiers entered a saloon and called 
for a dram. The saloon keeper, who had been a slave owner, resented 
the soldier's authoritative manner, and refused. Words followed, and 
the saloon keeper knocked the soldier down. The soldier went to his 
quarters, returning with his loaded rifle. A duel ensued, and the 
saloon keeper was shot in the wrist. The soldier was arrested, but re- 
fused to be put in the guard house, and in this he was supported by his 
comrades. All had been drinking, and they turned out of their quarters 
with loaded rifles, declaring that no saloon keeper could insult one of 
Uncle Sam's soldiers. For a time open m.utiny was impending, but 
Captain Merrill asserted his authority and restored order. Riding into 



102 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

the village, the officers were almost mobbed. Tlie people had become 
aroused and threatened an attack upon the soldiers. An old Confederate 
colonel came out upon a balcony and addressed the populace. He told 
them that the war was over; that this officer (Captain Merrill) was there 
in the discharge of his duty with two hundred well-trained soldiers, with 
abundance of ammunition, well encamped and entrenched near running 
water. Said he, "they are only too eager to fight, and you will get the 
worst of it." His words dispersed the mob. He invited the officers to 
dine with hijti, and after dinner, while all were smoking upon the ve- 
randa, pointed to the adjoining plantation, where his neighbor was just 
mounting his horse. "Do you see th.at man?" said he. "Yes," was the 
reply. "Well," he answered, "I saw that man shoot my father from 
ambush just alter the war began, and now the war is over and we have 
returned and niust live as neighbors. He was a northern man. Some- 
times my fingers just ache to shoot him as he passes by." 

Captaiii Merrill was retained in service for a year after the war 
was over, and was mustered out April 25, 1866. Colonel Shafter en- 
deavored to induce him to enter the regular army, but he was averse to 
a military life except in such dire necessity as appealed to his fervent 
patriotism. Returning to Carthage he engaged in the drug trade in part- 
nership with his brother. He relinquished this business in 1895, and 
was for some years a traveling salesman for a paint house. For a time 
he had charge of his brother's store. He was a highly moral man, and 
was a regular attendant of the Baptist church, though not a member, and 
for seveial years he taught a class in its Sunday school. He was an 
active member of E. B. Steele Post, G. A. R., and acted politically with 
the Republican party. For a number of years he served as village trus- 
tee of Carthage. The latter days of his life were spent in sacrifices for 
his motherless children, to whom he devoted himself with a love as ten- 
der as that of a mother. As the dread angel spread his dark mantle 
over his declining days his only prayer was that he might live until his 
youngest daughter had grown into young womanhood. Long after the 
muster-out roll sounded, and the seeds of disease were preying upon his 
vitals, when he should have been in his sick bed, he continued to labor 
aiid sacrifice for his children, carefully concealing from them his condi- 
tion and passing the long hours of the night in sufifering until at last 
his strength utterly failed, and he passed peacefully away, September 
10, 1901. Truly can it be said of him, he was a brave soldier, loving 
husband, kind father and true neighbor and friend. His portrait, which 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 103 

appears in this work, was placed therein by his son, Ray W. Merrill, in 
loving remembrance of an indulgent and affectionate parent. 

Captain Merrill was married, at Hailesboro, New York, to Miss 
Ellen M. Gates, a native of St. Lawrence county, daughter of Isaiah 
and Susan (Waldo) Gates, of the village where she was born, November 
3, 1849. She died at the age of thirty-six years and six months. She 
was the mother of seven children, of whom three are living: Ray 
Waldo, further referred to hereinafter ; Maude, who is engaged in teach- 
ing; and Ethel, who is a student in the Potsdam Normal School. 

(8) Samuel Lawrence Merrill, M. D., youngest son of Lawrence 
C. Merrill, was born March 29, 1838, in Antwerp, and was six months 
old when his parents moved to Champion. He grew up in the latter 
town, attending the district school, and spent one term at Bush's Academy 
and one term at Ives Seminary, Antwerp. He began reading medicine 
with Dr. George N. Hubbard, with whom he moved to Carthage, and 
subsequently attended medical lectures at the Albany Medical College. 
In March, 1864, he enlisted as a contract surgeon, and served in the Cum- 
berland and Number Fourteen Hospitals, at Nashville, Tennessee. In 
the meantime he entered the medical department of the University of 
Nashville, and received his diplom.a in 1865. He then joined the Seven- 
teenth United States Infantry, in which his brother was a captain, and 
contmued as assistant surgeon until May, 1866, when he was discharged. 
For about eight years following the war, he was engaged in the drug 
business, and then resumed the practice of medicine at Carthage, in 
the fall of 1875. He was subsequently in practice at Mannsville, this 
county, nearly ten years, and returned to Carthage upon the death of 
Dr. Hubbard, to take charge of the latter's practice. In 1896 he again 
acquired the drug store, which had been conducted by his brother in the 
meantime, and has conducted it since in connection with his practice. 
He is the owner of a fine farm in the town of Lorraine, on which a large 
dairy is maintained. Dr. Merrill is a member of the Baptist church, in 
which he served many years as trustee, and was formerly connected 
with the Masonic order. 

He was married February 25, 1864, to Miss Mary E, Osborn, a 
native of New Jersey, daughter of Jonathan Osborn, who was several 
years a farmer in the town of Wilna, and a deacon of the Baptist church 
of Carthage. She died September 20. 1875, survived by one of her 
three children. Lawrence, tlie eldest, died at the age of ten years, and 
the voungest when seven months old. Anna, the second, is the wife of 



104 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

the Rev. J. Foster Wilcox, of Syracuse, and has a daughter, Ruth Ehza- 
beth. In 1878 Dr. Merrill married Ellen E. Brown, of Ellisburg, daugh- 
ter of Waterman Brown, one of the early farmers of that town, and 
his wife, Nancy Williams. 

(9) Ray Waldo Merrill, son of Erwin Moses Merrill, was born 
January 28, 1878, in Carthage, where his home has always been. He 
graduated from the Carthage High School in 1S98, and immediately 
began reading law with Hon. A. E. Kilby, of Carthage. That he has 
made the most cf his opportunities is shown by the facts that he gradu- 
ated from the Albany Law School on May 30, 1901, and was admitted 
to the bar at Rochester July 20 following. Since then he has been 
actively engaged in practice at Carthage, taking a profitable business 
from the start. He is affiliated with Carthage Lodge, Number 158, of 
the Masonic fraternity. He follows in his father's footsteps in uphold- 
ing the principles for which he fought in the civil war, and acts with 
the Republican party. He is a member of the Baptist church of Carthage. 

Ellen M. Gates, wife of Captain Erwin M. Merrill, was a descendant 
in the ninth generation of Cornelius Waldo, extended mention of whom, 
with many of his descendants, appears under the proper heading in this 
work 5. Shubael, son of Shubael Waldo (see 4, Waldo), was born 
January 10, 1733, in what is now Lisbon, Connecticut, and died Septem- 
l)er 4, 1807, at Herkimer, New York. He was a tanner by occupation, 
and lived at various places in this state. He was with his father at Al- 
stead. New Hampshire, and moved thence to this state early in life. 
There is a tradition that he was a revolutionary soldier with his eight 
brothers, but no record is found of such service. He was married Octo- 
ber 2, 1754, in Mansfield, Connecticut, to Priscilla, daughter of Samuel 
and Betty Smitli. She was born January 4, 1734, in Colchester, Connec- 
ticut. They had seven children. 

6. JaraiT!, fifth child of Shubael and Priscilla Waldo, was born in 
May, 1772, at Herkimer, this state, and died in 1841 at Great Bend, this 
county. He was a farmer in Champion, and also followed shoemaking. 
He married, at Rossie, Lois Kinney, who was born in 1775, and died in 
1855, in the town of Rutland. They had nine children. 

7. Shubael, third child of Jaram and Lois Waldo, was born May 
28, 1804, at flerkimer. New York, and died May 11, 1836, in Hailesboro, 
St. Lawrence county, wdiere he was a farmer. He was married, May 27, 
1827, in Champion, to Phoebe Delana Caldwell, of Champion, born 
May 5, 1809, and died April i, 1892, in Hailesboro. They had four chil- 
dren. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 105 

8. Susan, eldest child of Shubael and Phoebe D. Waldo, was born 
January i6, 1828, in Champion, and died March 28, 1865, at Great Bend. 
She was married, October 15, 1848, in Fowler, New York, to Isaac, son 
of Arba and Susan (Clintsman) Gates, of Hermon, New York, where 
Isaac was born. He died May 30, 1852, in California. His only child, 
(IX) Ellen M., born November 3, 1849. was married in Hailesboro, to 
Erwin M. Merrill. 

LEWIS. This is the name of a very old New England family, es- 
tablished in Rhode Island as early as 1661, by John Lewis, who was one 
of the original proprietors of the town of Westerly, where he died before 
1690. His children were John, Daniel, James, David, Israel, Samuel 
and Dorcas. The first settler at Westerly was John Babcock, who went 
from Newport with his wife, Mary Lawton, and built a wigwam 
on the east side of the Pavi'catuck river. Their first child, James Babcock. 
was the first male white child born in the Narragansett territory (see Bab- 
cock). The people of Newport had previously deputized five men — Will- 
iam Vaughan, Robert Stanton, John Fairchaild, Hugh Mosher and 
James Longbottom — to purchase from the Indians the title to the land, 
This was accomplished and the deed, given by one Sosa, was dated June 
29, 1660. Settlers soon began to arrive, and among them was John Lewis, 
a native of Wales, and his family. 

(I) John Lewis may have come from Newport to Westerly, but 
nothing definite can be ascertained, as the records of Newport were so 
mutilated by the British, who carried them off during the Revolutionary 
war, as to be useless. John Lewis was in Westerly about the beginning 
of 1661, as he signed articles of agreement there on March 22 of that 
year. On May 17, 1671, he appeared, with twenty-one others, at the 
house of Tobias Saunders, in response to a public warrant, and took the 
oath of allegiance to the government of Rhode Island. When he was ad- 
mitted a freeman, October 28, 1668, he was credited to Misquamocott, 
from which it is apparent that the name Westerly was adopted subse- 
quent to that time. The town did not keep an official record until 1683, 
and, under date of September, 1679, was entered the name of John Lewis, 
junior, as owner of lot 9. March 3, 1680, the following were listed as 
lot-holders : '"James Lewis, i lote : David Lewis, 5 lots ; Izreall Lewis. 
16 lots; and Samuel Lewis, 38 lots." It seems that there was a son, Jon- 
athan, as it is noted that he settled on Long Island. Daniel made his 
home in Hopkinton, Rhode Island, another in Exeter, and the rest re- 



106 GENEALOGICAL A\W FAMILY HISTORY. 

mained in Westerly. When the father settled in \Vesterly he located not 
far from the present residence of John H. Cross, and after his death his 
body was deposited just below the village of Westerly, on the east side 
of the highway leading to Watch Hill, in front of the house now owned by 
Thomas E. Saunders. This land once belonged to the Lewis family, and 
seven generations are said to be buried there. There is another Lewis 
burying ground in W'esterly, on the east of a gravel hill, south of the 
house of Pardon Lewis, containing about a dozen graves. In both ceme- 
teries the absence of headstones or lettering renders the names of indi- 
viduals uncertain. 

(II) John Lewis, eldest child of John Lewis (I), took the oath 
of allegiance May 3, 1681. He was grand juror June 12, 1688, and 
appointed deputy to the general assembly at Newport, October 25, 1704, 
and again in 1709 and 1710. He died in 1735. His wife's name was 
Anna, as shown by his will. This instrument, j dated April 4, 1732, 
provides, among other things, that his Negro, "Will," should have ten 
pounds and, after his master's death, should be absolutely and entirely 
free. His children were Joseph, Sarah, Mary, Ann, Abigail, John, Will- 
iam and Jerusha. 

(III) Joseph, eldest son of John Lewis (2), was born October 
16, 1683, in. Westerly, and married Mary Wilcox, who died November 
27, 1762. He died about 1764, his will bearing date June 24, of that 
year. Both he and his wife were buried in the Lewis cemetery, at West- 
erly. Their children were: Jerusha, Joseph, Anna, Amos, Thankful, 
Abraham, Hannah, Abel and Esther. 

(IV) Abraham, third son and sixth child of Joseph Lewis, was 
born November 24, 1724, in Westerly. No further record of him can 
be found, except that his children were Abraham, Jr., James, Henry, 
David, Esther and Nehemiah. 

(V) Henry Lewis, third son of Abraham, was born in 1757, prob- 
ably at Petersburg, Rensselaer county, this state, as other members of 
the family are known to have been born there. In 1800 he settled at 
what is now North Wilna, and built a log house on the east side of the 
road, opposite the present hotel (built by his descendants), where the 
marks of the cellar are still visible. He was one of the first overseers 
of the poor in the town. His first wife was Polly Jackson, and five of 
their children were born in Rensselaer county. Three more were born 
in Wilna, one being the first white child born within the present limits 
of the town. The mother died in 1807, at the age of thirty-eight years. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. lo7 

and Mr. Lewis was subsequently three times married, but no record is 
found of the second and third marriages or of the names of the I^rides. 
Soon after the death of his first wife, he moved to Cattaraugus county, 
New York, where all of the last three marriages w-ere consummated. 
A son, Oscar, was born of the second marriage, but died at the age of 
nine years. The fourth wife was Marv' McMillen, who died in 1836. 
She bore him two children, of whom the elder, Sarah, must have died 
young, as no trace of her has been found. The younger, Mortimer, was 
born June 13, i8ig, and died July 10, 1895, near Weston, Ohio. In 
1826 Mr. Lewis joined his eldest and third sons, near La Grange, Ohio, 
where he died in 1836. Following is a brief record of the children of the 
first marriage: Ephraim, born April 9, 1786, lived in Ohio. Betsey. 
March 22, 1789, was married October 10. 1808, to John C. Foster, of 
Antwerp. Stephen, May 14, 1792, is mentioned at length below. Henry, 
June I, 1793, went to Ohio. Polly, November 5, 1795, married George 
W. Bingham, November 27, 18 16, and lived and died in Wilna. Martha, 
1802, married John Chellis, of Watertown, and died one year later. 
Granson, May 22, 1805, is the subject of a paragraph below. Rodolphus 
Jackson, March 22, 1807, was an infant when his mother died and was 
reared by his eldest sister, in Antwerp. He settled at Oswego, this 
state, where he died. 

(VI) Stephen Lewis lived nearly all his life in North Wilna. He 
inherited land, to which he added by purchase, and was the owner of 
three hundred acres. In 1825 he built the red house in which he kept 
hotel during the balance of his life, and which was destroyed in the 
spring of 1903. It stood a little south of the present hotel building, 
erected by his son. He was a captain of the local militia, and was a 
prominent man of the town. He died November 21, 1854. He was 
married October 26, 18 17, to Sophia Ross, who was born April 21, 
1794, in Herkimer county, one of a family of eleven children, of Scotch 
descent. Of their five children, the first and third died before one year 
old. They were named Amanda and Charles. Sanford, the second, 
born November 24, 1820, lived in North Wilna, kept a hotel, and died 
May 19, 1892. He was first married February 11, 1846, to Abigail 
Kimball, who was born July 24, 1822, and died March 5, 1867. He 
was married second February 24, 1870. to Audrey Caroline Bigelow, who 
was born June 24, 183 1, and survives him, still residing in the hotel which 
he built. He was postmaster over forty years, his incumbency ending 
with his death. Silvius, mentioned further below, was the fourth child 



108 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

of Stephen Lewis. :Myrc)n. the fifth, is also mentioned at length far- 

tlier on. 

(VI) Granson Lewis lived at North Wilna until 1834, when he 
moved to the center of the town, where Wilna postoffice was long located, 
and built a hotel, which he kept as long as he lived, and in which he 
died November 14. 1851. aged forty-eight years. This building is still 
standing and furnishes a home for his grandson, Charles Lewis, on 
the homestead farm. He purchased twenty-six acres of land, on which 
he did some farming in connection with his hotel business and to which 
his son added, making the present farm over one hundred acres. He 
sought no part in public affairs, was a Whig in politics, and gave his 
attention to the care of his family. For several years he kept the post- 
office, which was continued after his death by his son. He was married 
April 14. 1828, to Meribah N. Chaffee, a native oi Westminster, Ver- 
mont, and daughter of Zebina and Lucy (Nutting) Chaffee, who moved 
with oxen from Vermont and settled at Natural Bridge in the pioneer 
days. Mrs. Lewis was married November 26, 1872, to Orin F. Sanders, 
whom she survived, and died March 18, 1894, at West Carthage, at 
the age of eighty-five years. She was the mother of two sons and a 
daughter. Nelson, the eldest, is farther described below. Columbus 
R. went to California in i860, and is now a resident of Oakland, in that 
state. Lucia Ann married John R. Washburn, a prominent citizen of 
Watertown, where she died, and where he died in 1903. 

(VH) Nelson Lewis was born August 7, 1829, in North Wilna, 
and was five years old when his father moved to Wilna postoffice. Here 
he grew up, and was twenty-four years old when his father died. He 
continued to operate the hotel until the building of railroads and other 
influences changed the current of travel, wdien he gave more attention 
to agriculture. He added to the original domain, and was the possessor 
of one hundred and ten acres, which he tilled with success. He died 
there October 26, 1887. aged fifty-eight years. He was a Republican, 
from the beginning of that party, and took an intelligent interest in the 
progress of events, but never sought nor accepted office, other than that 
of postmaster. He was married December 26, 185 1, to Caroline Lang- 
staff, a native of Piscataway, New Jersey, and daughter of Henry and 
Marinda Eliza (Pickering) Langstaff, natives of New Jersey and Con- 
necticut respectively. James, the father of Henry Langstaff, was a Rev- 
olutionary soldier. Mrs. Lewis survives her husband, and resides in the 
hotel building erected by him. and is an exemplary member of the Dis- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 109 

ciples church. Of their seven children, four are Hving. Josephine, the 
first, died in infancy. Eugene Granson, the second, furnishes the sub- 
ject of other paragraphs. Helen M. lives one mile south of her mother, 
being the wife of Jared Pierce. Charles E. resides on the home farm. 
Estelle E. married Frank Pennington, and lives north of her native 
place. Lillian L. died in 1899, while the wife of Wells Timmerman. 
Nelson died when three years old. The men of this family have usually 
been of large stature, and all were fond of hunting and fishing, to which 
characteristic Nelson Lewis was no exception. 

(VIII) Eugene Granson Lewis was born October 24, 1854, in 
the hotel at Wilna, where his mother and brother now reside. He grew 
up there and attended the district school until twelve years of age, when 
he was obliged to abandon school, on account of his father's failing 
health, and gave his attention to the affairs of the farm and hotel. 
Though his school days were few, Mr. Lewis has supplemented, by 
private study and reading and observation, the knowledge thus gained, 
and is known as one of the most intelligent and progressive citizens of 
the town of Wilna. On attaining his majority, his younger brother 
being then able to assume the responsibilities of the home place, he went 
to Utica and was there employed five years by a market gardener. His 
duties involved the sale of the product, and this experience gave him a 
large insight of human nature and business methods. 

Returning to Wilna, he soon acquired his present farm, consisting 
of sixty-eight acres, near the east line of the town, on which he has made 
many improvements, including the present farm buildings and residence. 
He gives considerable attention to the breeding of Jersey cows, and 
keeps from ten to twelve, from which he produces butter for the market. 
Mr. Lewis is a member of Carthage Grange, of which he has served as 
overseer, was three years master, and is now assistant steward. He is 
recognized as an influential force in the affairs of the order. With his 
wife he affiliates with the Universalist church of Natural Bridge, in 
which he is a trustee. In politics he sustains with voice and vote the 
principles of the Republican party. 

Mr. Lewis was married June 8, 1882, to Sedate Hester, daughter of 
Elisha and Angelica (Clearwater) Fulton, of old Wilna families. The 
last named is a daughter of Jacob Clearwater, a soldier of the war of 
1812, and his wife, Hester Sheley, a native of Johnstown, New York. 
(See Fulton, Elisha F., IV.) 

Jacob Clearwater was born in Marbletown, Ulster county. New York, 



no GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

a son of Daniel Clearwater. About 1836 he came to Carthage, and some 
six years later settled on a farm in the town of Wilna, where he died 
September 4, 1856. His widow died several years later, in Croghan. 
They had seven children: Abraham, the eldest, was born May 3, 1818, 
lived and died in Ontario, Illinois; Maria, who died in girlhood; Daniel, 
born December 2, 1822. lived on the homestead and died there January 
14, 1891 ; John, torn March 3, 1825, died in young manhood; Angelica; 
Joseph, born July 16, 1830, settled in Croghan, and died there, and he 
operated a sawmill and was also a farmer; Luke, born September 30. 
1833, resided on a farm in Mexico, Otsego county. 

(VII) Silvius, son of Stephen Lewis, was born August 18, 1825, 
in the hotel kept by his father at North Wilna, and passed his entire 
life in that place. He inherited one hundred acres of land from his 
father, and purchased one hundred and twenty more, also inheriting 
seventy acres on the death of his mother, making his estate cover almost 
three hundred acres, and he was a successful farmer. He served twenty 
years as assessor of the town, thus proving the confidence of his fellows 
in his integrity and sound judgment. He passed away at his home 
north of the hotel, April 2, 1878, in his fifty-third year. He was an 
expert at the games of backgammon and checkers, and many contests 
were waged between him and his cronies at the old hotel. 

Mr. Lewis was married February 24, 1852, to Isabel E. Hanson, 
who survives him and resides with her son on the homestead. She was 
born May 5, 1830, in Lowville, a daughter of Peter and Anna (Thrall) 
Hanson, natives of Hartford county, Connecticut. Anna Thrall was 
a daughter of Jesse Thrall, a Revolutionary soldier. Three children 
came to Silvius and Isabel E. Lewis. Orville Adolphus, born March 24. 
1853, resides in Antwerp. Sketches of the others follow. 

(VIII) Stephen Sidney, son of Silvius Lewis, was born Novem- 
ber 24, 1854, on the farm at North Wilna, where he resided all his life, 
until his removal to Philadelphia, New York, in December, 1903. He 
attended the district school of the neighlxirhood, and meantime gave 
his aid to his father in the cultivation of his large farm. He was always 
ready in the use of tools, and has done much building in the county. 
Upon the death of his father he assumed the ownership of the farm, in 
company with his younger brother, and they purchased the interest of 
the eldest brother. Becoming somewhat broken in health, he leased 
his interest to his younger brother, and gave his attention largely to 
carpenter work. The summer of 1902 was spent in Philadelphia, where 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. lU 

he was employed in building operations, and he sold out to his brother 
in 1903 and moved to Philadelphia, where he purchased a house and lot, 
and intends to make his home in future. With a set of blacksmith's 
and carpenter's tools he is likely to make himself useful in some capacity, 
as he has in the past. His house on the farm is a sample of his handi- 
work, on which he hired only ten days' work done, in any capacity. Like 
others of his tribe, he is a sound Republican, and has served as town 
assessor for the last nine years, his tenure closing only on account of his 
removal. He attends the Methodist church. 

Mr. Lewis was married August 7. 1880, to Miss Dolly L. Mack, 
who was born June 1 1, 1858. in the town of Wilna, a daughter of Ches- 
ter and Mary Ann (Tooly) Mack, nati\-es, respectively, of Antwerp 
and Wilna. Chester Mack was a son of Carmus and Martha (McCloud) 
Mack, the latter of Scotch birth, and both early settlers in Wilna. Mary 
Ann Tooly was a daughter of Horace and Dolly (Olds) Tooly, natives 
of Vermont, the latter of whom lived to be one hundred years old. 

(Vni) Henry H. Lewis, youngest son of Silvius Lewis, was born 
A.pril 26, 1861, in the house where he now lives. His education, as far 
as school is concerned, was completed at Ives Seminary, at Antwerp. 
For several years thereafter he taught in the schools of Jefferson county, 
an experience worth more as an educator than many terms as a student. 
With a grasp of men and things he impresses the observer as a man of 
parts, and is withal a most genial and courteous gentleman. Of quiet 
and modest disposition, he is not quickly read at his real worth. 

For some years he has given much care and effort to the preserva- 
tion of the family genealogy, and tO' his painstaking labor and intelli- 
gence is due much of the information contained in the sketch of the Lewis 
family. Having come into possession of the home farm by inheritance 
and purchase, he is now giving diligent attention to its cultivation. He is 
a member of the Methodist church at Wood's, in which he was superin- 
tendent of the Sunday school for three years. An earnest student of hu- 
man progress, he gives support to the Republican policies as embodying 
most fully his ideas of true principles of government. For three years 
following the death of his uncle, Sanford Lewis, he kept the postolfice at 
North Wilna. Mr. Lewis is a member of Carthage Grange. 

Mr. Lewis was married, December 24, 1900, to Miss Kate N. Ran- 
dall, who was born September 25, 1869, at Wood's and they are the 
parents of one son, Henry Silvius, born December 18, 1902. 

The earliest ancestor of the Randall family, of which Mrs. Henry 



112 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

H. Lewis is a representative, was Benajah Randall, whose son, William 
Randall, born June ii, 1788, in Vermont, removed from that state to 
Herkimer county, New York, where he died in 1801. His wife bore 
him five children, as follows : Dr. Samuel, who resided in the west, and 
was the father of one son; Williatn, mentioned hereinafter; Benajah, 
who was the father of three children, Silas, Benajah, a resident of Os- 
wego, and Maria, who became the wife of Hiram Wait ; Orphia, who be- 
came the wife of John Bemis; and Willard, who died in early life. 

William Randall, second son of William Randall, married Amanda 
Ross, and their children were as follows: Reuben Benajah, born March 
I, 181 1, died November 23, 1873; Clarina, born March i, 1813, becatme 
the wife of John G. Hubbard, and died August 17, 1883; John Zinah, 
mentioned hereinafter; William, Jr., born July 13, 1817; Sophia, born 
April 22, 1819, died May 24, 1879; Samuel Nicholas, born June 24. 
1821, died October 5, 1846; Hezekiah Streeter, born April 26, 1824, a 
resident of Gouverneur; Artem.ns Asahel, born May 5, 1826, died July 
17, 1826; Harvey Eleazer, born April 29, 1828. died November 13, 1857; 
Mark Anthony, born January 30, 1831, died Febmary 7, 1842; Noble 
Watson, born March 26, 1834, died July 11, 1865, before Richmond 
during the Civil war. 

John Zinah Randall, second son of Wilh'am and Amanda (Ross) 
Randall, was born May 17, 181 5, and was killed at the second battle of 
Fredericksburg, December 12, 1862. He was married, Noveimber 17, 
1840, to Almena Brooks, daughter of Julius and Sally (Otis) Brooks, 
and their children were : Artemus Asahel, born March 3, 1842, who was 
wounded by a shell at the second battle of Fredericksburg, and died De- 
cember 13, 1862; Nelson W., father of Mrs. Lewis, mentioned herein- 
after; Esther J., born March 11, 1849, married, October 25, 1870, Will- 
iam H. Ormiston; Ella A., born July 27, 1859, married, February 18, 
1885, Silas Monroe. The mother of these children died June i, 1896. 

Nelson W. Randall, father of Mrs. Lewis, and second son of John 
Zinah and Almena (Brooks) Randall, was born February 23, 1844, 
died Decernber 22, 1S92. The early years of his life were spent on a 
farm at Woods, and after his marriage to Ellen Smith, of Lafargeville, 
New York, December 26, 1867, he went to Virginia, where he remained 
two years. He then located in Nyack, New York, where he purchased 
a moulding mill which he conducted eight years and then sold. Subse- 
quently he purchased a planing mill in Hoboken, New York, and he was 
killed by machinery in his own plant. Nelson W. and Ellen (Smith) 



GENEALOGICAL AND EAMILY HISTORY. 113 

Randall were the parents of two children: Kate N., aforementioned as 
the wife of Henry H. Lewis; she was educated in Jersey City high 
school and Hasbrook Institute, where she received, in 1889, a gold medal 
in the art and scholarship departments. She began giving private draw- 
ing lessons at home, but after a =hort period of time she accepted a posi- 
tion as supervisor of drawmg in the West Hoboken schools, where she 
remained three years, or until her marriage. Edwin C, born June 28, 
1872, was engaged with his father, Nelson VV. Randall, for a time, later 
was superintendent of a wholesale lumber yard, and at the present time 
(1904) is in charge of the Boston office of the firm of Wickes Brothers. 
(VII) Myron, youngest child of Stephen Lewis, was born March 
25, 1828, in the hotel kept by his father at North Wilna, and grew up 
there. He started in life at an early age, purchasing one hundred acres 
of land when nineteen years old. This was a wilderness, and he was 
obliged to cut away trees to make room to build a house. He cleared up 
this land, to which he added twenty acres, and developed a fine -farm, 
which he continued to till during his life, which ended March 12, 1892. 
In 1883 he built the square house now standing on his farm, on lot 855. 
He carried on diversified farming, raising grain and keeping cows. 
Though not a member of any church, he cherished the faith of the Meth- 
odists, and was respected as an upright citizen. Like all his family, he 
was a supporter of Republican principles in national and state affairs. 

Before he was nineteen years old, November 26, 1846, he was mar- 
ried to Mary Frances DeWolf, who was born in August, 183 1, in New 
York city, and died December 5, 1885. They were the parents of ten 
children, all of whom are living. Julia, the first, married William Gates 
and resides in Schenectady, this state. • Augustus P. is a farmer in the 
town of Wilna. Adelaide married Nelson Twining, and lives in Copen- 
hagen, Lewis county. Cornelia is the wife of William Gray, of Utica, 
Myron is mentioned farther below. Sophia is the wife of John Dickson, 
a farmer of Antwerp. Sanford is a resident of Harrisville, Lewis county. 
Florence married Cranson Scott, a farmer residing on Alexandria Road, 
Wilna. Frank is a citizen of Alpine, Lewis county. Luella is Mrs. 
Alexis Smith, residing near Natural Bridge, in the town of Wilna. 
November 10, 1887, Mr. Lewis married Harriet (Timmerman) widow 
of Packard. 

(VIII) Augustus Piatt Lewis, eldest son of Myron Lewis, was 
born August 9, 1849, at North Wilna, in the red hotel, and soon after 
his birth his father moved to the farm. When he was thirteen years old 



114 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Augustus; went to live with liis uncle, Sanford Lewis, who had no sons, 
and^for two years after that attended school in the winter, in the local 
district. He continued to assist his father on the home farm until he was 
eighteen years old, and then set out to begin an independent life, accord- 
in<^ to family custom. He worked one season on a farm in Deerfield, 
and spent a year in the sewing machine department of the Remington 
armory, at Ilion, New York. For the succeeding three years he was 
employed by David Gray, a market gardener at Utica, and gave his time 
chiefly to the sale of the product, thus gaining an experience of value to 
him ever since. After working a year in a grocery kept by J. W. Morris, 
at Utica, he returned to Wilna and bought twenty-five acres of land, 
which forms a part of his present homestead. To this he has added by 
purchase until he now owns eighty-eight acres. He has given much at- 
tention to gardening, and maintains a small dairy, beside raising colts 
and otlier stock. He is a member of the Grange at Natural Bridge, and 
attends the Protestant Methodist church at North Wilna. A sincere Re- 
publican in political principle, he as'oids public office, though he never 
forgets to vote. A successful gardener and farmer, Mr. Lewis has 
made his own way, and is respected by his contemporaries. 

He was married, September 15, 1875. to Miss Bertha Gordon, who 
was born April 14. 1848, in Oldenburg, Germany, a daughter of Fred- 
erick Gordon. Her mother died wl-;en she was an infant. In i860 she 
came with her father to Cape Vincent, this county, and she has since 
lived in this vicinity, receiving most of her education in this country. 
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis have a son. Gray Augustus, born July 12, 1880, 
and residing with his parents. He was married, December 24, 1902, to 
Miss Mabel Kinne, who was born March 23, 1884, at Antwerp, this 
county, a daughter of George and Nellie (Cooper) Kinne, natives of the 
town of Philadelphia, now residing in Antwerp. 

(VIII) Myron, fifth child and second son of [Myron Lewis, was 
born September i, 1855, o'^ ^^'"^ farm between Wilna ami North Wilna 
postoffices, where he grew up, attending the district school until he was 
sixteen years old. He was early accustomed to fill a man's place on the 
farm, and continued to assist his father until he was nineteen years old, 
when he set out to make his way in the world, as his ancestors had been 
wont to do. For some years he worked as a farm hand, saving his earn- 
ings, so that he was soon able to take land and till it. Since he was 
twenty-four years old he has w'orked the farm on which he now resides, 
which was for many years the home of the late Simeon Fulton, with the 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 115 

exception of recent years, when it has been rented. In 1896 Mr. Lewis 
purchased two hundred and fitty acres of land, much of which is new, 
and to the cultivation of this he gives his personal attention. He is a 
member of the Carthage Grange, and aims to^ keep up with modern 
methods of farming, in which he has been successful. In religious faith 
a Universalist, he supports the church at Natural Bridge, and gives po- 
litical allegiance to the Republican party, but has never accepted a politi- 
cal nomination. 

Mr. Lewis was married June 11, 1S79, ^° Julia Fulton, adopted 
daughter of Simeon Fulton, a much respected and old-time resident of 
Wilna (see Fulton IV). Two sons and a daughter are numbered in the 
family of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis, namely: Eon Fulton, Lyle V., and La- 
rilla Frances, all at home. 

LOWE GENEALOGY. The earliest ancestor of the Lowe family 
of whom there is any authentic record was Cornelius Low, and the name 
appeared in the last written form (Low), for several generations. 
Cornelius Low came to this country in 1659, from Halbraud, in Hol- 
slein, Geimany, where he was born in the year 1644. He was united m 
marriage m 1668, at Kingston, New York, to Elizabeth Blanchan, who 
was born in Kingston, New Y'ork, in 1648, daughter of Matthew and 
Madeline J. (Jarisse) Blanchan. He came to this country in 1660 with 
his son-in-law on the "Guilded Ottar," and Governor Stevens, came 
with Anthony Cushill, and his wife and daughter were captured by 
the Indians and kept prisoners for three months. Matthew and INIade- 
line (Jarisse) Blanchan were the parents of eight children: Cornelius, 
born in 1670; Peter, 1672; Abraham, 1674; Jacob, 1676; John, 1678; 
Matthew, 1681 ; Madeline, 1683; and Antjie, 1685. Cornelius Low was 
an exceedingly large man, noted for his great strength, and was a suc- 
cessful merchant in Kingston, New York. 

Peter Low, second son of Cornelius and Elizabeth (Blanchan) Low, 
married, and the issue of this union was four children. 

Gideon C. Low. the eldest son of Peter Low (great-great-grand- 
father), was born in New York city in 1720. He was imited in marriage, 
in 1743, to Rachel Sammons, and they reared a large family. 

Peter G. Low (great-grandfather), was born in Kingston, New 
York, in 1750, one of three brothers, two of whom served in the Revo- 
lutionaiy war. Peter G., on account of ill health, was unable to parti- 
cipate in the conflict, but sent a substitute, and this fact entitles his de- 



116 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

scendants to membership in the order of the Sons and Daughters of the 
American Revolution. For a number of years Mr. Low was a resident of 
Clayton, but later removed to Brownville, New York, where his death 
occurred in 1847, 'it the extreme old age of ninety-seven years. In 1775 
Mr. Low married Catherine Hess, who was Ijorn in Kingston, New 
York, in 1753. They were the parents of a family of children, whom they 
reared to lead lives of usefulness and activity, namely: Jacob, Gideon, 
and Margaret, who became the wife of Isaac White, of Denmark, Lewis 
county. New '^'ork. 

Gideon Low (grandfather), the first of the family to change the 
spelling of the name from Low to Lowe, was born in New Paltz, Ulster 
county, New York, May 8, 1779. He spent the early years of his life in 
Denmark, New York, but later became one of the pioneer settlers of 
the town of Depauville, New York, where he cleared up some land, but, 
the ground being low and swampv, he cf>ntracted a fever and therefore 
was obliged to remove to higher ground. He served in the war of 1812, 
and received credit and distinction for his gallant and meritorious conduct 
on the field of battle. He was united in marriage to Polly Goudiere, who 
was born in Middletown, New Jersey, April 2, 1782, a daughter of Fran- 
cis Goudiere, who came to this country from De Vallitte, France, prov- 
ince of Var, where he was born in the year 1755. His wife, Annie 
(Trieuxj Goudiere, born in 1758, was a descendant of Philippe and 
Jacqueline (Non'et) De Trieux, or De Truax. The earliest mention of 
the De Trieux family is found on the Walloon church register preserved 
in the University of Leyden, Holland, and by this it is shown that they 
joined the church at Leyden, October, 1617, by letter from Amsterdam, 
Holland. Other members of the De Trieux family joined this church at 
an earlier date. 

(iidcon and I 'oily (Goudiere) Lowe were the parents of the fol- 
lowing named children; i. Abel F., born July 3. 1802, died in 1859; 
he was one of the prime organizers, founders and a liberal contributor 
to the Methodist Episcopal church, and his wife at her decease left a 
handsome endowment for the Ives Seminary at Antwerp, New York. 
2. Abraham, born September, 1803, died December 18, 1857; his first 
wife was a Frame; his second wife, Adelia Frye, born in 1822, died 
November 27, 1855; and his third wife was Harriet Payne, a full ac- 
count of whose ancestry is found in the sketch of Milo McCumber, found 
elsewhere in this work. 3. Jacob, born in 1809, •''•ed April 6, 1874; his 
wife, Betsy (Hancock) Lowe, died October 11, 1895, aged eighty-seven 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 117 

years. 4. John, born January 7, 1810, died Septeimber 22, 1876; his 
wife, Eunice (Phelps) Lowe, born November 18, 1813, died in 1900; 
a full account of her ancestry is found in the sketch of J. D. Lowe, which 
follows this. 5. Isaac, mentioned hereinafter. 6. Fanny, born in 1814. 
7. Chester, born April 26, 1819, married Celestine Gould, born January 
17, 1822, in Michigan, died July 28, 1894; they were the parents of 
three children: Charlotte, who became the wife of E. Rogers, of i\Iich- 
igan ; Alice and Eugene, both residents of Michigan. 8. Margaret, born 
in 1821, became the wife of Homer Phelps, and died in early woman- 
hood. 9. Ann, born in 1823, died at Benton Harbor, Michigan. Gideon 
Lowe, father of these children, died at his home in Depauville, May 14. 
1853, aged seventyrfour years. His wife, Polly (Goudiere) Lowe, 
passed away September 2, 1867, in the eighty-sixth year of her age. 

Isaac Lowe (father) was born at Deer River, town of Denmark, 
New York, November 12. 1812. He was reared in his native town, 
which was located in Lewis county, and upon attaining young manhood 
located in Clayton, near the town of Depau^•ille, where he purchased a 
farm and engaged extensively in the breeding and handling. of sheep, 
cows and horses, being the owner of as many as one hundred and fifty 
co'ws at a time, which he later disposed of at advantageous prices. He 
was a prominent and influential citizen of the community, and took a 
keen and active interest m religious and political affairs. Mr. Lowe mar- 
ried Zilla Atwood, who was born May 6, 1818, and they were the parents 
of nine children, three of who are living at the present time, namely: 
Celia, wife of D. C. Herkimer, of Depauville, New York; Alfred D.. a 
sketch of whom follows this; and Frank D., whose personal sketch also 
follows this. Isaac Lowe, father of these children, died at his home in 
Depauville, May 31, 1879, ^ged sixty-six years, and his wife, Zilla (At- 
wood) Lowe, died November 6, 1889, aged seventy-one years. 

Zilla (Atwood) Lowe was the daughter of Anthony and Polly 
(Chandler) Atwood, the former-named having been born in the year 
1769, in Vermont, where he was a well known and highly respected hotel 
keeper. In 18 17 he came to this section and located at Depauville, at 
that time there being no houses where the thriving village of Clayton now 
stands. Here he spent his life, and died October 29, 1845, i" the seventy- 
seventh year of his age. His wife, Polly (Chandler) Atwood, was born 
in 1786, and her death occurred in Depauville, New York, September 20, 
1854, in the sixty-ninth year of her age. She was the daughter of An- 
thony Chandler, a relative of Governor Gorman Chandler, of Vermont. 



118 GEXEALOGICAL AXD FAMILY IIISTURY. 

Anthony and Polly (Chandler) Atwood were the parents of the follow- 
ino- named children: i. Isaac, born in 1810 in Vermont, died in Depau- 
ville. New York, October 29, 1845 : ^'^ came to Clayton, New York, with 
his father when he was a mere child. He married Luthera Stetson, who 
was born in 1814, and died September 19, 1874. Their children were: 
Jeanette, Charles, James L., who married Arvilla Dodge, daughter of 
Francis Dodge, and their children are Celia and Isaac Atwood; Mon- 
treville W., born in Clayton, who married Emma Cleveland, daughter of 
Isaac and Adeline (Hudson) Cleveland, a sketch of whom appears else- 
where in this work, and they have one daughter, Adeline Atwood. 2. 

Cynthia, born , became the wife -of Oliver Rouse. 3. Oliver P., 

born , 181 5. died March 21. 1845, aged thirty years. 4. Zilla, 

born May 6, 1818, aforementioned as the wife of Isaac Lowe. 5. Co- 
rilla. born 1821, died November t8. 1839, aged 18 years. 6. WilHam C, 
born , resided m Clayton, New York, and died in October, 1903. 

.\LFRED D. LOWE, postmaster of Depauville, New York, also 
the proprietor of an extensive general establishment in the same town, 
is a man of rare intellectual attainments and executive ability, active and 
prominent in political circles, and an influential factor in various enter- 
prises which have conduced to the material growth and welfare of the 
town in which he resides. 

He was born September 26, 1850. on the old homestead in Jeffer- 
son county. New Y'ork, a son of Isaac and Zilla (Atwood). He was 
educated in the district school. Brownville high school and Watertown 
Commercial College, from which he was graduated at the age of eighteen, 
and Fairfield Seminar\^ During the winter of 1869 he taught school 
at Clayton Center, and the following spring he began his mercantile 
career as a clerk in a general store conducted by James Johnson. After 
the expiration of two years' service in that capacity he formed a part- 
nership with Mr. M. V. B. Ranney. under the name of Ranney & Lowe, 
and this connection continued for four years, after which the business 
was disposed of to Mr. Ranney. In January. 1877, Mr. Lowe entered 
into partner.ship with Mr. R. Terry, succeeding the firm of Ormsby & 
Terry, and they conducted a successful business until the fall of 1886 
under the firm name of Terry & Lowe. After the dissolution of the firm 
Mr. Lowe established his present business in one of the best locations 
in the village of Depau\-ille, erecting a two-story and basement building, 
fifty-six by sixty-five feet, the basement being utilized for storing pur- 
poses. Tie carries a full aufl select line of dry and fancy goods, notions. 






^^Z£/Z> 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY LIISTORY. 119 

clothing, house fiirnisliing, groceries and provisions, drugs and hard- 
Avare, and employs the ser\-ices of three clerks to attend to the wants 
of his patrons, and also runs a well-equipped wagon through the sur- 
rounding country towns. He has achieved a large degree of success 
in this enterprise, which fully demonstrates w^hat energy and persever- 
ance can accomplish in either business, professional or private life. In 
addition to the management of this extensive business. Mr. Lowe super- 
intends a farm consisting of two hundred and fifty acres, with a dairy 
of twentv-five cows, tlie property of his father-in-law. Abner Smith, 
and at various times he has conducted several other farms. He has 
also erected a number of houses in the \-illage, which he has disposed 
of very advantageously, and during the excavation for these unearthed 
several skeletons from their burying ground, the town of Depauville 
being formerly inhabited by Indians. Through the village of Depau- 
ville. formerly known as Frog Hollow, or Podunk, runs the Chaumont 
river, which was known as Catfish creek in early times ; this river is 
navigable by way of Chaumont Bay for six miles from any point on 
the great lakes, and during the building of his business block and also 
at other times Mr. Lriwe has had vessels laden with merchandise and 
lumber come up from the lakes and unload in close proximity to his 
store. 

I\Ir. Lowe has been largely instrumental in the building up and 
improvement of the village, and is actively and prominently identified 
with various important enterprises. He is one of the stockholders and 
a director in the Telephone Exchange, having raised four hundred dol- 
lars for its erection, contributed three hundred and fifty dollars tO' estab- 
lish a telegraph line and office; is a director in the Bank of Clayton, a 
stockholder in several of the most extensive cheese factories in this sec- 
tion, and also in a beautiful six thousand dollar dairy plant, which was 
built in 1903. He has served in the capacity of trustee of the Depau- 
ville Cemetery Company for twelve years, was also secretai"y and treas- 
urer of the same for a number of years, and during this period contrib- 
uted in no small degree to the beautifying of the ground. He served 
as town clerk several terms until the office was removed to Clayton; 
in 1882 was elected justice of the peace, and is still the incumbent of 
the office; was tw'ice nominated for supervisor, and reduced the majority 
to thirty-two against one hundred and eight for other candidates ; and 
has served as postmaster under every Republican President, and as deputy 
postmaster under each Democratic administration for twenty-five con- 



120 GENEALOGICAL AND EAMILY HISTORY. 

seculive years, and is the present incumbent of the position. Mr. Lowe 
is an honored member of the Masonic fraternity, being affiliated with 
Depauville Lodge No. 688 ; also the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
subordinate lodge, and Montcalm Encampment No. 27, of Watertown; 
a charter member of the Order of Foresters, and presiding officer for 
a number of years, and treasurer at the present time (1904) of the high 
court cif the state. 

August 13, 1873, Mr. Lowe married Emma F. Smith, born in 
Clayton, New York, August 12, 1849, ^ daughter of Abner and Elma 
(Wheeler) Smith. Abner Smith was born in Brownville, a son of 
Abner Smith, who came to Brownville as a pioneer and built a stone 
house which is still standing in a fair state of preservation. Abner 
Smith, Sr., died at the age of eighty-two years. Abner Smith, Jr., took 
a prominent part in educational matters, taught school for many years, 
and is supposed to have held the first state teachers' certificate ever issued 
in Jefferson county. New York. Subsequently he conducted a beautiful 
farm of two hundred and fifty acres located about three miles from 
Depauville, on the road to Clayton, but about the year 1880 he retired 
from active business pursuits, and has since made his home with Mr. 
Lowe. He served as town superintendent of schools, justice of the 
peace and assessor, being the incumbent of each office for several years. 
Although eighty-seven years of age he is still vigorous in mind and body, 
and is one of the most intelligent men in the town. Elma (Wheeler) 
Smith, wife of Abner Smith, was born in Russia, Herkimer county, 
New York, a daughter of Myron and Sally (Paine) Wheeler. Myron 
Wheeler came to Clayton, New York, by means of marked trees, was 
one of the very earliest settlers of that section, followed the occupation 
of drover, and died at the age of eighty years. Myron Wheeler and his 
wife, Sally (Paine) Wheeler, were the parents of a number of children, 
two of whom are living at the present time — Ephraim, principal of the 
Pulaski school, formerly connected wtih the Ives Seminary; Elma, who 
became the wife of Abner Smith, and died in the year 1842; and Susan, 
widow of Morgan Moffatt. 

FRANK D. LOWE, deputy collector and inspector of customs at 
Clayton, Jefferson county. New York, in which capacity he has ser^^ed 
since 1898, is a native of the town in which he now resides, having 
been born October 17, 1862, a son of Isaac and Zilla (Atwood) Lowe. 

He was reared in his native town of Clayton. New York, and ac- 
quired an excellent English education in the common schools of the town 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 121 

and at Hungerford Collegiate Institute. Adams, New York, graduating 
from the commercial department of the latter-named institution in the 
class of 1881. The following eighteen months he served in the capacity 
of clerk in the extensive establishment now owned and conducted by his 
brother, Alfred D. Lowe, and then by Terry & Lowe, at Depauville, New 
York. After his resignation from this position he returned to the old 
farm, which consisted of one hundred and fifty acres of rich and arable 
land, where he remained until 1898, and during this period he devoted 
his entire attention to the cultivation and improvement of the same. In 
1903 he disposed of the old homestead, and now owns a two-hundred 
acre farm, which was formerly the property of his wife, but resides in 
Clayton village, renting the farm. 

Mr. Lowe has been honored by his fellow-citizens by election to 
various offices of trust and responsibility. He was collector of taxes for 
one year, supen-isor during the year 1895, ^nd appointed to his present 
position of deputy collector and inspector of customs in 1898, was reap- 
pointed in 1902, and is still serving in 1904. He has conducted this 
office to the eminent satisfaction of the department officials at Wash- 
ington, D. C, and by his courteous manner and agreeable disposition 
has won for himself a wide circle of friends. He has one assistant to 
aid him in the routine work of the office. He is a Republican in politics, 
and has been appointed a delegate to various conventions. He has been 
master for two years, and warden for three years of Depauville Lodge 
No. 688, Free and Accepted Masons : a member of Clayton Lodge No. 
539, and Montcalm Encampment No. 160, I. O. O. F. ; and a member 
of Depauville Grange. 

Mr. Lowe was united in marriage November 29, 1882, to Gertrude 
A. Plumb, a native of Depauville, New York, and a daughter of Sand- 
ford Plumb, a farmer by occupation, who died at the age of seventy-one 
years, and Betsy (Rice) Plumb, the two latter named having been the 
parents of six daughters, four of whom are living at the present time 
(1903) : Emma, who resides in Montana; Nettie, a resident of Buffalo. 
New York: Gertrude, wife of Frank D. Lowe; and Winnifred, who 
married Merritt Andrus, and who resides in Washington, D. C. Mr. 
and Mrs. Frank Lowe are the parents of one son, Ross B., born Novem- 
ber 30, 1883. He was educated in the common and high schools; gradu- 
ated from Albany Business College in May, 1904, and is now bookkeeper 
in the store of his uncle, A. D. Lowe. Mr. Lowe and his wife attend 
divine services at the Methodist Episcopal church of Clayton, New York. 



V2'2 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

JOHN DEMSTER LOWE, a prosperous agriculturist of Gunns 
Corners, was born in Clayton. New York, February 9, 1857, a son of 
John and Eunice (Phelps) Lowe. 

John Lowe (father) was born January 7, 1810, in Deer River, 
Lewi.s county, New York. He was reared and obtained a practical edu- 
cation in Deer River, New York, and upon attaining young manhood- 
located in the town of Clayton, where he purchased a farm and was very 
successful in the cultivation and management of the same. In 1859 he 
bought a one hundred and eighty-five acre farm at Gunns Corners, now 
occupied by his sons, John D. and Abel F. Lowe, and here he spent the 
latter years of his life. 

In 1832 Mr. Lowe married Eunice Phelps, who was born in Den- 
mark, Lewis county. New York, November 8, 1813. Her parents were 
Sampson and Louisa (Smith) Phelps; the father was born in New Sa- 
lem, Massachusetts, in 1779, and died in 1857; the mother was born Au- 
gust 30, 1783, a daughter of Job and Eunice (McClure) Smith. The 
children of Sampson and Louise Phelps were six in number : Clemina, 
who married French Lowe; Homer, who married Margaret Lowe; Eu- 
nice, who married John Lowe; Lovincis, who married a Nims; Leonard; 
and John. John Phelps, the only surviving member of this family, was 
born December 18, 1819. He married, in Frankfort, New York, near 
Utica, Elizabeth Myers, who was born December 5, 1822. She was a 
daughter of Frederick F. and Abigail (Frank) Myers, who were the 
parents of seven children : Mary, Catherine, Hiram, Abigail, Martha, 
Elizabeth (Mrs. Phelps), the only one now living; and Frederick. John 
and Elizabeth (Myers) Phelps were the parents of four children, of 
whom two are living: Rev. D. L. Phelps, of St. Lawrence, and Rev. 
Brayton M. Phelps, of Richville, St. Lawrence county. Mr. and Mrs. 
John Phelps reside in Chaumont, New York. 

The following named children were born to Mr. and Mrs. John 
Lowe: i. Alzina, born August 4, 1859, wife of M. V. Cook, of Rod- 
man, New York. 2. John D., mentioned at length in the following 
paragraph. 3. Leonard, died in 1895; 4. Ashley D., a resident of Wa- 
teitown. New York, married Ida Baldwin, of Stone Mills, New York; 
they have one child, Gracie. 5. Delia A., born March 18, 1842, became 
the wife of Isaac Webb, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, November 28, i860, 
and two children were born to them — Georgie, born September 20, 186^ 
wife of Herbert Clark, of Dexter, New York, and they have one child, 
Florence, born in 1885; and Eugene C, born November 24. 1868. died 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 123 

in New York city, March 21, 1903; he was Survived by his wife, Emma 
(Stimpson) Webb, and their child, Delia Frances, born March 23, 1892; 
after the death of her first husband Mrs. Webb became the wife of F. K. 
Leonard, a retired capitalist of Loweville, New York. 6. Abel F., born 
in June, 1844, in Clayton, New York, educated in the common schools, 
and spent the early years of his life on the farm; he enlisted in the Tenth 
New York Heavy Artillery, during his two years' service participated 
in a number of engagements, and was honorably discharged as a private. 
He then returned to the homestead farm, where he has since resided, 
and is now interested with his brother, John D. Lowe, in general farm- 
ing and the buying and selling of cattle; he is a member of the Masonic 
fraternity and the Grange. In 1888 he was united m marriage to Kate 
Cummings, a daughter of A. E. Cummings, and they are the parents 
of two children — Maud, living, and John, deceased. 7. Sylvia, wife of 
David A. Van Camp of Perch River, New York, sketch elsewhere. 
John Lowe, father of these children, was a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church. His death occurred September 22, 1876, aged sixty- 
six years ; his wife, also a member of the same church, died November 
22, 1900, in the eighty-ninth year of her age. 

John D. Lowe, eldest son of John and Eunice (Phelps) Lowe, was 
reared on his father's farm, and his educational advantages were obtained 
in the common schools of the neighborhood, at a private school in Brown- 
ville. New York, and at Fairfield Academy, Fairfield. Herkimer county, 
New York. For a number of years following his graduation from the 
latter-named mstitution he was engaged as a school teacher in the sec- 
tion of the state familiar to him from childhood to manhood, after which 
he assisted his lather in the labor of the farm until the death of the lat- 
ter in the year 1876. Fie then assumed the m.anagement of the estate for 
his mother, and since her decease has continued his operations on the 
farm, aided by his brother, Abel F. Lowe. In addition to general farm- 
ing they breed and sell a large number of stock horses and other kinds 
of cattle. Mr. Lowe served as assessor of the township for nine consec- 
utive years, during the greater part of which time he was chairman of 
the board, and he has also been called upon to serve as delegate to a 
number of county conventions. He is an active and loyal Republican 
in politics, a member of the order of Free and Accepted Masons of De- 
pauville, and also of the Grange. He is a director of the Jefferson County 
Agricultural Society, was vice-president one year, and also served as 
president one year. 



12-1 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

DAVID A. VAN CAMP, deceased, for many years a highly re- 
spected and eminently successful business man of Perch River, New- 
York, was born in the town of Clayton, New York, September 22, 1844, 
a son of Cornelius, born in 1818, died in May, 1859, and Mercy (Spicer) 
Van Camp, born April 10, 1819. died October 13, 1896. A full account 
of the Spicer genealogy is found elsewhere in this work. Cornelius 
Van Camp, who was a farmer and extensive dealer in cattle, was a son 
of Henry D. Van Camp, who was born in Montgomery county, New 
York, a farmer by occupation, and died at Stone Mills. 

David A. Van Camp received his education in the common schools 
of Clayton and at the Lafarge Institute. During the Civil war he en- 
listed in Company H, Tenth Regiment New York Heavy Artiller}-, par- 
ticipated in a number of battles, was in front of Petersburg, and served 
until the close of hostilities. This regiment was composed of the First, 
Second and Fourth Battalions of the Black River Artillery, raised in 
the counties of Lewis and Jefferson (Eighteenth Senate District). They 
were mustered into the service of the United States from September 1 1 
to October 27, 1862, to serve three years. The original members were 
mustered out of service June 23, 1865, and the recruits consolidated into 
three companies and transferred to the Sixth New York Artillery, June 
27, 1865. 

David A. Van Camp married, March 19, 1868, Sylvia A. Low, 
born December 31, 1846, in Clayton, New York, a daughter of John and 
Eunice (Phelps) Low, a full account of whose ancestry will be found in 
the sketches preceding this. Mrs. Van Camp received an excellent edu- 
cation in the common school? of Clayton and Brownville, and at a pri- 
vate school in Lafargeville conducted by George Strough. Four chil- 
dren were the issue of this union, namely: i. Charles H., born January 
10, 1869, attended the common schools of Perch River and two terms 
at Antwerp Seminary, and now resides with his widowed mother at 
Perch River. 2. Pitt De Elton, born April 13, 1872, educated in the 
common schools of Perch River and Fort Plain Military School, which 
he attended two terms, and is now located at Bisbee, North Dakota, 
where he is employed as a telegraph operator on the Great Northern Rail- 
road. 3. Carrie Grace, born July 6, 1877, died August 17, 1888; she 
attended the common schools, and was an exceedingly bright, intelligent 
and interesting child. 4. Roy David, born February i, 1886, attended 
the common schools of Brownville, the Dexter high school two years, 
and is now a student at Park College. Missouri, pursuing a practical 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 126 

course. David A. Van Camp, father of these children, died October 17, 
1901. 

Taylor E. Calkins, deceased, brother-in-law of Mrs. David A. Van 
Camp, was born near Perch River, New York, April 21, 1849, ^ son of 
Ervin Calkins, grandson of Seth Calkins, and great-prandson of Asa- 
hel Calkins, a native of New York state, died in Oswego county, and 
whose wife, Lena (Savins) Calkins, bore him twelve children. Seth 
Calkins married Nancy Holmes, who bore him twelve children. Ervin 
Calkins was born in Canada, from whence he came to Oswego county, 
New York, then removed to Jefferson county, same state, near the pres- 
ent home of the widow of Taylor E. Calkins, where he conducted farm- 
ing operations up to the time of his decease. He married (first) Abigail 
Wright, who bore him two children, Ann Eliza and Jane, and (second) 
Mary McCombs, of McCombs's Settlement, daughter of John and Mag- 
dalena (Frank) McCombs, and their childrep were: Harriet, George, 
who served as chaplain in the Civil war ; Henry, who served as corporal 
in the Civil war and died at Antioch Church, Virginia; Hannah, Mary, 
Walter, a resident of Dexter, who served in the Civil war, in Company 
G, Tenth Regiment New York Heavy Artillery, married Christina E. 
Lowe, daughter of Jacob and Betsey (Hancock) Lowe, of Brownville, 
and their children are : George E., Eva M., and Arthur G. ; Rev. John, 
a resident of Ox Bow ; Edwin, a resident of Watertown ; and Taylor E. 
The surviving members of this family are Walter, John, Mrs. C. Phelps 
and Edwin. The mother of these children died at the advanced age of 
ninety years. 

Taylor E. Calkins was reared in Perch River, attended its common 
schools, a private school in the town of Adams, and Belleville Institute. 
He followed farming as an occupation, and thereby gained a comfort- 
able livelihood and a competency. He was a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church, of which he was steward for many years, and was 
also a member of the Masonic fraternity. On February 2, 1875, he mar- 
ried Clara Van Camp, the only surviving member of a family of six 
children born to Cornelius and Mercy (Spicer) Van Camp, whose deaths 
occurred, respectively, April, 1859, and April 13, 1896. Cornelius Van 
Camp was a farmer, and also bought cattle to quite an extent for many 
years. He was a son of Henry D. Van Camp, born in Montgomery 
county, who later located near where Mrs. Taylor E. Calkins now re- 
sides and purchased a large tract of land, which he cultivated for a num- 
ber of years. He finally removed to Stone Mills, where his death oc- 



126 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

curred. Triylor E. Calkins died in the house now occupied by his widow, 
in Percli River, November 27, 1903. 

BYRON J. STROUGH, deceased. Energy, perseverance, enter- 
prise and high moral character, were the chief characteristics in the ca- 
reer of Byron J. Strough during a long and useful career. He was a 
worthy representative of an honorable German ancestry. The founder 
of his family in America was his great-grandfather, Baltus Strough, 
who was born in the duchy of Hesse Cassel, Germany, whence he ami- 
grated to America during the period of the Revolutionary war, locating 
in Manheim, Herkimer county. New York, where he was among the 
pioneer settlers and farmers. His wife was Catherine Ritter, who was 
born in Germany m 1750, and they were the parents of ten children. 
The father died at the age of fifty-one years, his wife surviving him until 
T827, when she died at Little Falls, New York, at the age of seventy- 
seven years. 

Daniel Strough, the grandfather of Byron J. Strough, was born in 
Manheim, Herkimer county. New York, January 15. 179^. His early 
vears were passed upon a farm about four miles from Salisbury, New- 
York. His education was limited to that afiforded by the humble dis- 
trict schools of his times. In early life he learned the trade of tanner 
and shoemaker, which occupations he followed in connection with farm- 
ing until he had attained his sixty-fifth year. In 1820 he removed to 
Jefferson county, New York, locating in the town of Theresa, where he 
remained until 1854, thence removing to Orleans, where he lived until 
1876, in which year he took up his residence with his son, George H. 
Strough, in Clayton, New York, and where he died, August 19, 1876. 
in his eighty-second year. He was formerly a Democrat, but upon the 
organization of the Republican party he joined that party and acted 
with it during the remainder of his life. He married Anna Wiswell, 
who was born in Manheim, New York, November 15, 1797, and died 
in Clayton at the age of eighty-one years. She was a daughter of Sam- 
uel WisW'ell, who was born in England, a son of Benjamin Wiswell, 
W'ho came to America in 1772 and located in the state of Vermont. Sam- 
uel Wiswell was one of four brothers, two of w'hom were killed by the 
Indians while returning to Vermont from Montreal. He was a member 
of the state militia, and served as aide to General Stark. Later he set- 
tled in Manheim, New York, where he died of yellow fever in 1812. He 
had been married twice, his first wife having been Sally Hopkins, and 



GEXE.-ILOCJCAL .IX D FAMILY HISTORY. 127 

his second wife Nancy Boyer, who was the great-grandmotlier of Byron 
J. Strough. 

The children born to Daniel and Anna (Wiswell) Strough were as 
follows: Samuel W.. of whom further hereinafter; Lucinda, died in 
early childhood ; Mary K., who became the wife of Daniel Eddy and died 
at the age of twenty-three; Joseph, who became a Presbyterian minister 
and died in Steuben county, New York, in 1854; Nancy Ann, who be- 
came the wife of James Ellwood and resides in Kalamazoo, Michigan : 
Daniel, who resided near Vicksburg but now lives near Comstock, Mic'h- 
igan; Eli P., who died in iSyS; Cornelia, who died in infancy; Jane, who 
also died m infancy; and George H., who is a resident of Clayton. New 
York. 

Samuel \V. Strough, eldest child in the family last named, w^as 
born near Little Falls, m Herkimer county. New York, March 21. 1817. 
In 1820, when he was three years old, his parents removed to Theresa, 
where he attended the common schools, and by close attention to his 
studies acquired a practical education of such scope that for fifteen years 
he acquitted himself most creditably as a school teacher in various towns 
in the northern part of the county. He also studied law, received his 
license as a practitioner, and while managing a fine farm of two hun- 
dred and twelve acres performed a large amount of legal work, drawing 
up wills, contracts and agreements and acting as executor and administra- 
tor for many valuable estates. He was a man of broad intelligence and ex- 
cellent business ability, and he was chosen by his fellow townsmen to fill 
various offices of honor and trust, among them those of justice of the 
peace, town superintendent, etc. He served as president of the Jefferson 
County Agricultural Society, in which he always took and active and in- 
telligent interest and he w-as largely instrumental in procuring the building 
of the railroad from Theresa to Clayton. He died, universally regretted, 
beloved by all who knew him, June 25, 1876, having come to his death by 
a bolt of lightning. By his marriage with Emeline Tallman he became 
the father of four children: i. Byron J., to be further written of. 2. 
Elnora L., deceased, who became the wife of W. A. Snyder. 3. Lucien 
S., a resident of Lafargeville. 4. Perrin A., a resident of Lafargeville. 
Mrs. Strough was born in Schuyler, New York, October 17, 1821, and 
long survived her husband, dying June 21. 1903, at the age of eighty- 
two years. She was a daughter of Abraham and Phila (Eddy) Tall- 
man. Her father was a son of William and Rhoda (Aikin) Tallman, 
and was a pioneer settler of Orleans, New York, a farmer by occupation. 



1^8 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

and died in November, 1884, at the age of eighty-eight years. His wife, 
Phila Eddy, born in Orleans, lived to the same age as did her husband. 
They were the parents of three children, one of who^m is living at the 
present time — Louisa, wife of Eugene Howland, of Watertown, New 
York. 

Byron J. Strough, eldest child of Samuel W. and Emeline (Tall- 
man) Strough, was born in Theresa, New York, February 6, 1844. He 
secured an excellent education, after passing through the common 
schools entering Theresa Academy, from which he was graduated in 
1859. In November of the same year, at the early age of fifteen, he 
accepted a position as school teacher, and he developed such genuine 
ability for this calling that he followed it for a period of thirteen years, 
meantime (in 1866) taking the examination for which he received a 
state teacher's certificate^ an honor rarely accorded at that time. He 
taught successfully in the towns of Clayton, Depauville, Lafargeville 
and Theresa, and would undoubtedly have distinguished himself in edu- 
cational circles had he cared to continue in the work. In 1872, however, 
he entered into partnership with his brother, Lucien S. Strough, and 
they purchased the drug and grocery business then conducted by Clark 
B. Bushnell, m the Bushnell Block, Lafargeville, and which they suc- 
cessfully conducted until 1886, when they disposed of it. Early in the 
'70's the brothers inaugurated a hay and grain buying and shipping busi- 
ness, which they made the most extensive of its kind in Jefiferson county. 
Byron J. Strough was actively identified with this enterprise until his 
death, since which time it has been continued by his brother and his 
widow. Mr. Strough made an honorable record and a high reputation 
as a business man among the hundreds of people with whom the firm had 
dealings. 

Byron J. Strough labored conscientiously and zealously in behalf of 
the betterment of the community, advancing its material and moral in- 
terests by all means in his power. His ability and worth is best dis- 
cerned in the fact that, while the town of Orleans is normally Repub- 
lican by what is considered a safe majority, and Mr. Strough was a 
stanch Democrat, the people regarded his political affiliations as of such 
slight consequence when compared with his splendid character and great 
capability, that they elected him to membership in the board of super- 
visors at sixteen consecutive annual elections. When he was first elected 
supervisor his town was heavily in debt and involved in litigation grow- 
ing out of the building of the railroad, but before he retired this was 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 129 

ended and the debt wiped out. He was regarded as the ablest man on 
the board of supervisors during his term of service. In that body he was 
never known to champion an unjust measure, and was a vigorous op- 
ponent of anything that was not for the best interests of the county. 
He was a stockholder in the Exchange Bank of Clayton, and in the Jef- 
ferson County National Bank, of which he was also a director. He held 
high rank in the Masonic fraternity throughout the state, in which he 
held various of the most important positions. February 28, 1866, he 
became afifiliated with Theresa Lodge No. 174, F. and A. M., and in 
1868 was demitted to Lafargeville Lodge, in which he was the follow- 
ing year elected master, a position to which he was re-elected for twenty 
consecutive years, and he was for six years district deputy grand master 
of the sixteenth Masonic district. He was also a member of Theresa 
Chapter, R. A. M., Watertown Commandery, K. T., and he held member- 
ship in all the Scottish rite bodies up to and including the thirty-second 
degree, and was a noble in Media Temple, Mystic Shrine. He was for 
eleven years trustee of the Hall and Asylum Fund of the Masonic order in 
the state of New York, also served as its vice-president and president, and 
at the time of his death was treasurer. The work of building, furnish- 
ing and maintaining the Masonic Home at Utica was something that he 
was greatly interested in, and he gave it much time and thought. No 
member of the board had a better conception of what such a home should 
be and how it should be conducted, and his services have been highly 
appreciated, not only by his fellow members of the board, but by the 
fraternity at large. He was for many years a member of the order of 
Odd Fellows. 

On June 12, 1867, Mr. Strough married Miss L. Marie Ford, who 
was born in Orleans, New York, December 27, 1847, a daughter of 
the Rev. Lewis T. Ford. Mr. Ford was born in Eaton, Madison county. 
New York, son of John Ford, who married Lucy Rich, in Connecticut, 
and the couple, with Reuben Rich, brother of Mrs. Ford, emigrated to 
Madison county. New York, about 1836. ' Mr. Ford worked upon his 
father's farm and in his mill until he came to manhood, receiving only 
a common school education. After arriving at his majority, through his 
own exertions he supported himself as a student at Madison (now 
Colgate) University, graduated from the theological department, and 
was ordained to the ministry of the Baptist church. At the age of 
twenty-one he married Miss Arminda Stetson, of Cooperstown, New 
York. Entering upon ministerial work, he had charge of a church in 



130 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Peterlxjrough, New York, tlic home of Gerritt Smith, who was a member 
of his churclT,and became a Hfelong friend. He was pastor of the Bap- 
tist church in Lafargeville in 1838; about 1841 at Watertown. whence 
he went to Parishville, St. Lawrence county, New York, and remained 
in that county about four years, returning about 1845 to Lafargeville, 
where he remained until his death. He was a man of great energy and 
force of character. He left surviving him four children, all of whom 
reside in Lafargeville: W. F. Ford, an attorney-at-law ; L. Marie 
Strough, widow of Byron J. Strough ; William G. Ford, and Charles 
H. Ford, the present supervisor. Of his brothers and sisters, John Ford 
settled in Diana, Lewis county. New York; Gilson Ford settled in Ohio; 
Guilford Ford remained in Madison county; Marie Rowell, a sister, 
resided in Wisconsin, and was the mother of thirteen children; Matilda 
Vincent resides in Wisconsin. Of his wife's relatives, Jesse Stetson 
left a large num1:)er of descendants, prominent among whom were Dr. 
Ezra Stetson, of Peoria, Illinois, and Mrs. Hannah Van Court, who 
resides in St. Louis. 

Mr. Strough died at Iiis home in Lafargeville, New York, April 24, 
1904, after a long illness, in the sixty-first year of his age. His death 
was regarded as a personal loss by the entire community, which held 
him in honor and affection for his lofty character, magnetic personality, 
and usefulness of life. The funeral of Mr. Strough was held from his 
residence in Lafargeville, and was conducted by Watertown Commandery, 
Knights Templar. Nearly every Masonic lodge and chapter in Jefifer- 
son county and some in adjoining counties were represented in the large 
gathering of the fraternity to pay the last respects to a beloved member. 
Lafargeville Lodge of Odd Fellows also attended in a body. At the 
cemetery, where several hundred people assembled, the Templars' burial 
service was conducted by Eminent Sir Charles D. Bingham, Grand Com- 
mander of Knights Templar in this state. The pallbearers were George 
L. Davis, Emmett Green, H. L. Mills, George Hatch. F. M. Galloway 
and C. J. Bellinger, all members of Watertown Commandery. 

The trustees of the Masonic Hall and Asylum Fund, at a meeting 
held in the Masonic Hall in the city of New York, May 5, 1904, adopted 
the following resolutions with reference to the death of Mr. Strough : 

"Whereas, this board has suffered an almost irreparable loss through 
the recent de!ath of Right Worshipful Byron J. Strough, and 

"Whereas, its members are desirous of placing on record a minute 
expression of their appreciation of Bro. Strough's long and valuable 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 131 

services to the craft, as well as their individual sense of personal loss 
through his demise, and their esteem and affection for him as a man; 
therefore, be it 

"Resolved, That in the death of Right Worshipful Byron J. Strough 
this board recognizes the fact that it has lost a most faithful, intelligent 
and indefatigable worker, and the craft at large a true exemplar of the 
eternal principles of our order; an upright man and Mason; a square 
stone in the Temple of Masoniy; a true friend and brother of our fra- 
ternal circle, beloved by all with whom he came in contact; whose work 
will live after him and whose memory will long be perpetuated ; and, be 
it further 

"Resolved, That these resolutions be spread in full upon the min- 
utes of the board, and a copy thereof, suitably engrossed, transmitted by 
its secretary to the family of otir late brother." 

At a special meeting of Lafargeville Lodge No. 171, F. and A. M., 
held at their rooms April 2y, 1904, the following preamble and resolu- 
tions were adopted : 

"Whereas, Again the bonds of our fraternity are severed and the 
ties that bound us to a worthy brother are rudely broken. One who has 
been long with us in our Order in scenes of pleasure and sorrow, and 
who has been honored as a man and a Mason, who has by fidelity to 
the trusts confided to his keeping reached high and distinguished honors 
in the craft, has been summoned by the Grand Master of the Universe 
to the Grand Lodge on High. As the Worthy Master of this Lodge for 
twenty years, as the honored representative of the Grand Master in this 
Masonic district, as the trustee and treasurer of the Hall and Asylum 
Fund for eleven years, he has been true to the trusts confided to his care. 
As a brother, a true friend, one whose counsel we revered, who wrought 
well for the good of our Order, will his memory be cherished by the 
brethren of this Lodge. 

"Therefore, be it resolved, that by the death of our brother, Byron 
J. Strough, this Lodge has lost one who has been a bright and shining 
light in our midst, and one who has honored our Lodge by his presence. 
A wise counselor has fallen and we as brethren mourn his loss and revere 
his memory. 

"Resolved, That to the family of our brother we have little of this 
world's consolation to offer, but commend them to the loving mercies of 
Him who doeth all things well. 

"Resolved, That our Lodge be draped in mourning, and a copy of 
these resolutions be sent to the family of our brother and to the press 
for publication, and spread on the minutes of the Lodge. 

Lafargeville Lodge No. 820, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
adopted the following resolutions : 

"Whereas, It has pleased the Almighty to remove from our fraternal 



132 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

circle our belo\-ed l)rother, Byron J. Strough, thereby reminding us that 
in the midst of Hfe we are in death, and it is our duty to perpetuate the 
virtues of tiiose who were so laborious with us in advancing the interests 
of our noble Order; therefore, be it 

"Resolved, That in the death of Brother Byron J. Strough, Lafarge- 
ville Lodge No. 820, I. O. O. F., has lost a member who had the love 
and friendship of our fraternal circle, and whose memory will ever be 
respected. 

"Resolved. That we tender to the family and friends of our deceased 
brother our heartfelt sympathy in the great loss they have sustained by 
the severing of the links which bound them in ties of friendship and 
love to our brother who has crossed the dark river, called hence to be 
no more seen, and where he will have rest from his labors ever more. 

"Resolved, That our charter be draped in mourning for thirty days ; 
that a copy of these resolutions be engrossed and presented to the family 
of our late brother, and that they also be spread upon the minutes of 
the meeting held April 28, 1904." 

The following tribute was inscribed upon the minutes of the direc- 
tors of the Jefferson County National Bank : 

"Mr. Strough has been a member of this board for nearly fifteen 
years — was of constant and great service to the bank. His advice was 
as sound as it was positive and clear, and there was no uncertain note 
in his conservatism. A wide business and political experience had de- 
veloped in him a keen critical faculty and a prudence that contributed 
largely to the safeguarding of the bank's interests. The members of 
the board regret his loss not only as that of a valued official, but as of 
a warm, sincere and loyal personal friend." 

Mr. Strough was survived by his widow, Mrs. L. Marie (Ford) 
Strough, and two Brothers, Lucien S. and Perrin A. Strough, all of 
Lafargeville. 

hi ELD. This name is a vei'v ancient one, and can be traced back 
to the conquest of England by William the Norman. Probably not a 
dozen families in England can prove so great an antiquity. The name 
is one of those derived from locality. Burke states that this family was 
originally in Alsace (then part of French now of German territory), 
seated at the Chateau de la Feld (of the field), near Colmar (German, 
Kolmar), from the darkest of the middle ages. Hubertus de la Feld 
was the first of the line that emigrated to England, and in 1069, was 
enrolled as the owner of lands by gift of the Conqueror, as compensation 
for military service, in the county of Lancaster. He was of the Counts de 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY LIISTORY. 133 

!a Feld, ot Colniar. In tlie fourteenth century, because of the wars with 
France, the French prefixes were dropped, and the name thereafter 
written Field. 

(I) Roger del Feld, born in Sowerby, England, about 1240, was 
a descendant of Sir Hubertus, and head of the family which settled in 
Lancashire and Kent counties. 

(II) Thomas, son of Roger, was born about 1278. in Sowerby, 
and was a jeweler there in 1307. 

(III) John, son of Thomas, was born in 1300, in Sowerby, and 
had land there in 1336. 

(IV) Thomas, son of John, was born 1330, in Sowerby, and 
was constable there in 1365, and greave in 1370, and also filled other 
public offices. His wife's name was Annabelle, 

(V) Thomas, son of Thomas and Annabelle Feld, was born 1360, 
and wdled lands to his wife, Isabel, in the territory of Bynglay. To his 
son, Robert, he willed lands in the villa and territory of Bradford. He 
died in 1429, at his residence in Bradford. 

(VI) William, son of Thomas and Isabel Feld, was born, probably, 
in Bradford, and died in April, 1480, at Bradford. His wife, Katherine, 
was administratrix of his estate. 

(VII) William, son of William and Ivatherine Feld, was born in 
Bradford, and lived in East Ardsley. 

(VIII) Richard Felde, son of William Feld, was born, probably, 
in East Ardsley, where he was a husbandman, and died December, 1542. 
His wife, Elizabeth, was one of his executors. 

(IX) John Field, son of Richard and Elizabeth Felde, was born 
about 1535, at East Ardsley, and married, in 1560, Jane Amyas, daugh- 
ter of John. She died August 30, 1609, and he died May, 1587. He was 
an eminent astronomer, and introduced into England, in 1557, the Co- 
pernican system, against the opposition of scientists of his day, and in 
recognition of this service to the science of astronomy a sphere was 
later added to and surmounted the family coat of arms. 

(X) John, son of John and Jane Field, was born about 1568, in 
Ardsley, and moved away before attaining his majority. Record of his 
death has not been found. 

(XI) Zechariah Field, grandson of John Field, the astronomer, 
American ancestor of the Field family, was born in 1596, at East Ards- 
ley, Yorkshire, England. The Field family has usually taken the liberal 
side of religious and political questions, and in 1629 Zechariah Field left 



13i GEXEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

England on account of the persecution of the dissenters, and landed in 
Boston, settling at Dorchester. In 1636 he was one of Rev. Thomas 
Hooker's congregation, which settled at Hartford, Connecticut. With 
the more liberal members of that church he removed to Northampton, 
Alassachusetts, in 1659. He was engaged in mercantile business, and 
had a large trade with the Indians. He was one of the original twenty- 
five proprietors of Hatfield, same colony, and was a member of the com- 
mittee which laid out the lands. He received a grant of land there in 
1661, and resided there until his death, June 30, 1666. He was mar- 
ried about 1641, and his wife Mary died about 1670. Their children 
were : Mary, Zachariah, John, Samuel and Joseph. 

(XII) Zachariah, eldest son and second child of Zechariah and 
Mary Field, was born about 1645, at Hartford. He was married, De- 
cember ly, 1668, to Sarah Webb, daughter of John Webb, of Northamp- 
ton. In 1672 he went to Deerfield. and died there in 1674. His estate 
inventoried one hundred and eighty-five pounds, seventeen shillings and 
six pence. His widow subsequently married Robert Price, and was mas- 
sacred, with her husband and others, in Deerfield. July 29, 1704. The 
children of Zachariah and Sarah (Webb) Field were: Zachariah, Eben- 
ezer and John. 

(XIII) John, youngest child of Zachariah and Sarah (Webb) 
Field, was born December 8, 1673, in Deerfield, and married, November 
9, 1696, Mary Bennett, daughter of James and Mary (Broughton) Ben- 
nett, of Northampton and Northfield. She was one of those carried in 
captivity by the Indians to Canada, in 1704, and was ransomed and re- 
turned the followmg year, with her son John. A daughter, Mary, was 
captured and also taken to Canada with the mother, and was adopted into 
an Indian family and given the name of Walahowey. She married an 
Indian chief, and subsequently visited her relatives in Connecticut, ac- 
companied by her husband. While the latter was willing to remain there 
she refused to do so, and they returned to their wild life. Another 
daughter, Sarah, was killed by the Indians at the same time the others 
were taken. 

About 1710 John Yield removed, with his family, to East Guilford, 
Connecticut, and thence to Coventry or Stafford, same state, where he 
died in February, 1718. Flis will mentions his wife and children. The 
latter were: Mary, John, Sarah, Pedajah, Bennett and Sarah (2). 

(XIV) Bennett, youngest son of John and Mary (Bennett) Field, 
was hciru Dccer.iner 13. 1709, in Deerfield, Massachusetts, and was mar- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 135 

ried December i8, 1734, to Elizabeth Spafford, daughter of Thomas and 
Bethiah Spafford, of Lebanon, Connecticut. She was born April 9, 
1715, and died November 20, 1772. He bought land in Lebanon No- 
vember 21, 1733, and was admitted to the church there in 1736. He 
moved to Mansfield, same state, in 1740, and died there April 6, 1770. 
His children were: Mary, Betsey, Lucy, Elizabeth, Huldah, Sarah, 
Bethia, Hannah, Amos, Bennett, Samuel and Elijah. 

(XV) Elijah, twelfth and youngest child of Bennett and Eliza- 
beth (Spafford) Field, was born April 20, 1756, in Mansfield, and 
was married, January 26, 1774, to Ta,mson Crane, daughter of Hezekiah 
Crane, of Mansfield. In the same year he settled in Woodstock, Ver- 
mont, where he was engaged in clearing and tilling land. He was a 
drummer in the Revolutionary army, through the struggle. In 1806 he 
removed with his family to Hounsfield, in this county, where he took up a 
large tract of land lying in the towns of Watertown and Hounsfield, and 
the district has since been known as Field's settlement. He had twelve 
children, several of whom were then married, all of whom then made Jef- 
ferson county their home. The oldest of them lived until the youngest 
had grandchildren. Three of the sons were clergymen, and one of them, 
Rev. Lebbeus Field, founded the Christian church at East Hounsfield. 
Their names were as follows : Hezekiah, Elijah, Philip Crane, Lebbeus, 
Thaddeus, Tamson, Filana, Hannah, Alpheus, Spafford, Samuel and 
Bennett. Elijah Field died in October, 1828, in his seventy-third year. 

(XVI) Spafford, seventh son and tenth child of Elijah and Tam- 
son (Crane) Field, was born April 10, 1790, in Woodstock, Vermont, 
and was sixteen years old when he came to Jeft'erson county. He was 
married, in 1810, to Hannah Mariah Resseguie, daughter of Daniel and 
Mary (Monroe) Resseguie (see Resseguie). She was born in 1790, at 
Charlton or Northampton, New York, and died December 25, 1813. 
Her only child, Mary, is the wife of Nathaniel Warren Green, residing 
at Richmond, Pennsylvania. Mr. Field married (second) Alice, daugh- 
ter of Abram Moore. She died March 16, 1859, leaving a son, Safford 
Ehjah. 

Abram Moore was a Revolutionary soldier, entering the army at 
Cambridge, at the age of eighteen years, and continued with Washing- 
ton's army to the close of the w^ar. Spafford Field died August 24, 1870, 
on his farm in Hounsfield, in his eighty-first year. He was an old-time 
Democrat, and among the first supporters of the Republican party. He 



136 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY, f 

was a member of the Christian church of East Hounsfield, and was a 
hisjhly respected citizen. 

(XVII) SafTford EHjah, son of Spafford and Alice (Moore) Field, 
was born December 27, 1828, in the town of Hounsfield, where he lived 
until his retirement m old age, and was one of the leading farmers and 
best citizens. Possessed of musical ability, he was several years a mem- 
ber of the local cornet band. In 1889 he went to live with his son in the 
city of Watertown, where he died April 8, 1898. He was a member 
and trustee of the Christian church of East Hounsfield, and kept the 
postoffice there several years. From its origin he was one of the loyal 
supporteis of the Republican party. A man of remarkably genial and 
social nature, warm-hearted and loyal, he was a valued friend, and en- 
joyed the esteem of those who knew him best. He entertained none of 
the social vices, and held to rigid standards of personal purity and moral 
uprightness. 

Safford E. Field was married, January 17, 1850, to Phebe, daugh- 
ter of Leonard and Eunice (Knowlton) Allen, of Hounsfield, who was 
born 1^'ebruary 25, 1829, and now resides in Watertown. Two children 
completed the family, Brayton Allen and Carrie. The latter, born Feb- 
ruary 27, 1861, was married, in 1883, to Rev. George E. Merrill, a grad- 
uate of Syracuse University, and recently pastor of Grace Christian 
church, of St. Johnsville, this state, and now in charge of a Congrega- 
tional church at Vermillion, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Merrill have a daugh- 
ter, Mattie M. 

Leonard Allen was a son of Ebenezer Allen, who came from Hart- 
land. Vermont, in 1806, with a large family, and settled in Hounsfield. 
Eunice, wife of Leonard Allen, was the first white female born in the 
town of Brownville, this county. 

(XVIII) Brayton Allen Field, only son of Saf¥ord and Phebe 
(.Allen) Field, was born March 18, 1853, in Hounsfield, and spent his 
early life there. He was educated in the district schoois, the Watertown 
high school and Dartmouth College, graduating from the high school 
in 1873, as valedictorian of his class. In 1878 he received the degree of 
Bachelor of Arts, from Dartmouth, with honors. During much of his 
course in the high school he lived at home, working nights and morn- 
ings, and driving to Watertown, five miles, each day to attend school. 
He was in school during the fall and winter terms, working on the farm 
the remainder of the year. He thus acquired habits of industry, perse- 
verance and cconomv. the best assets of vouth — the farm affording the 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 137 

b€St place to acquire them. At that time there were no local public libra- 
ries and but few available books, and in his thirst for knowledge he read 
everything within his reach. 

During the two years following his graduation at Dartmouth, 
he taught school, and with his earnings paid up the indebtedness in- 
curred in completing his college education. In the first year he was 
principal of the Proctor Academy, at Andover, New Hampshire, and 
the second year was spent in the public schools of the city of Watertown, 
meanwhile taking up the study of law in the office of O'Brien & Emer- 
son. On account of failmg health he was obliged to give up his studies 
for a time, but later resumed them in the same office. He was admitted 
to the bar, as attorney and counselor at law, April 20, 1886, and has 
since pursued his profession in the city of Watertown, where he has 
built up a large and lucrative general practice. During the summer of 
1904 Mr. Field was called upon to act for the city judge, and acquitted 
himself after the manner of a competent jurist. 

His ambition has never been for political preferment, but for pro- 
ficiency and excellence in his profession. On April i, 1902, he admitted 
to partnership Mr. Mason M. Swan (see Swan), an able and successful 
young attorney, and the business has since been conducted under the 
style of Field & Swan. He was for many years a member of the East 
Hounsfield Christian church, and is now a member oi the Universalist 
church of Watertown, and affiliates with Corona Lodge No. 705, Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows. In 1891 he built his handsome home, 
at the corner of Ten Eyck and Holcomb streets, which was among tne 
first in the city to be heated by hot water. All of the interior finish, ex- 
cept the doors, is of timber from the ancestral farm in Hounsfield, which 
he owns. While not a politician, Mr. Field entertains fixed ideas, but is 
not active in their promulgation, though a sound Republican, and has 
done some active work in non-partisan judicial campaigns. He takes 
the active interest in local affairs which attests the good citizen, and the 
interest in general afifairs that belongs to the intelligent observer. 

He was married, April 27, 1881, to Nettie E. Thompson, born 
January 9, 1858, in Watertown, daughter of the late Judge William C. 
Thompson, and Antoinette N. Chittenden, his wife, daughter of the late 
Judge Thomas Chittenden, of Adams. Of this very happy marriage 
have been born four sons and two daughters, as follows : Nellie Louise, 
December 8, 1884; Allen Safford, June 18, 1886; William Thompson, 
August 15, 1888; Arthur Chittenden, January i, 1891, died March 3, 



138 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HLSTOKY. 

1901; Brayton Wallace, October 26, 1892; and Irene Antoinette, July 
26, i(S94. The eldest son is now a student in the art course of Cornell 
University. 

The Field family has an honorable record in England, and in Amer- 
ica as well, where it has furnished many distinguished in civil, military, 
ecclesiastic, literary and business lines. A large number of the soldiers 
of the Revolution bore the name, and a few well known are deserving 
of especial mention, as Marshall Field, of Chicago, the greatest dry 
goods dealer in the world ; Eugene Field, late of the same city, noted as 
a poet and friend of children; Cyrus W. Field, originator and builder of 
the first Atlantic cable, and Justice Stephen J. Field, of the United States 
supreme court. 

The subject of the last article (XVIII) partakes of the qualities 
which have made his family prominent in history. Of genial nature, he 
makes and retains friendships, and is admired and respected as a citizen, 
as well as an able lawyer. He is above the medium stature, and carries 
himself with dignity and aplomb, while his affability and natural kind- 
ness of heart make him welcome in any circle. The honored name which 
he hears is safe in his care. 

MOFFETT. The Moffett family of this county is descended from 
a long line of ancestors who were among the earlier settlers in the col- 
onies and who helped in many ways in the settlement and formation of 
this great country. Their names may be found among the members of 
important committees, in church formations and on the rolls of those 
who served in the various wars in which the New England colonies were 
involved. The name has been spelled in many different ways — Moffat, 
Moffatt, Moffitt, Muffitt, Morphet, Muffit, and the present manner, which 
is the most common in this vicinity, Moffett. The original name was 
spelled Moffat, the same as the town in Scotland. No doubt the family 
was originally Scotch, but lines have always come through northern 
Ireland, the temporary home of many Scotch people, who were the chief 
settlers of that section. 

(I) The first of this branch in this country was William Moffat, 
who appears first on records at Newbury, Massachusetts, in 1686. He 
was married about 1691, to Mehetable, surname unknown, born in 1674, 
according to the record of her death, which says: "Died 3d May, 1754, 
aged 80." He removed to Killingly, Connecticut, in 1708, and was 
baptized and admitted to the church there October 13, 1734. His death 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. K39 

occurred January i6. 1741, in Killingly. All except the youngest of 
his eight children were born in Newbury. 

(II) Joseph Moffat, son of William, was born July 11, 1703, and 
was married abaut 1728-9, his wife's name being Mary. He was admit- 
ted to the church June 24, 1733, and removed to Sturbridge, Massa- 
chusetts, a short distance up the Ouinnebaug river, where Joseph Moffat 
was a town officer in 1740. He had twelve children. 

(III) Joseph (2), son of Joseph (i) and Mary Moffat, was born 
July 2, 1738, in Sturbridge, which indicates approximately the time of 
his father's settlement in that town. Joseph Moffat (2) was educated 
for a physician and located in Brimfield, farther up the Ouinnebaug, 
where he was successfully engaged in practice for many years. He 
fought in the French and Indian war, was an officer in the Revolutionary 
war, and was town clerk in 1779-84. He was on many important com- 
mittees, especially during the Revolution; was assessor in 1772-92, a 
period of twenty years; was representative to the general court in 1782; 
selectman in 1793, 1798-9, 1800-1-2; treasurer in 1798; taught school 
in 1768-9-70. One record shows the pay of Sergeant Major Joseph 
Moffat to have been four pounds six shillings and eight pence, and 
other records show service at various times. He was married June 3, 
1762, to Margaret Bliss, who was a descendant in the sixth generation 
of Ichabod Bliss. Mr. and Mrs. Moffat had four children. Margaret 
Moffat died November 4, 1771, and Mr. Moffat married, second, De- 
cember 10, 1772, Lois Haynes, by whom he had four children. He died 
August 12, 1802. 

(IV) Joseph (3), son of Joseph and Margaret (Bliss) Moffat, 
was born August 8, 1769, in Brimfield, Massachusetts, was graduated 
from Dartmouth College in 1793, read law and is supposed to have 
opened an office in Peacham, Vermont. In 1802 he moved to Danville, 
same state, was a druggist there, and representative in the legislature 
in 1804, and returned to Brimfield in 1807. In the meantime he had 
prepared for the practice of medicine, which he continued some years. 
He moved to New Woodstock, Madison county. New York, where he 
died April 3, 1820, in the fifty-second year of his age. He became a 
member of the Madison County Medical Society (Allopathic) July 29, 
1817, and was, probably, the first physician in New Woodstock. He 
was married in 1797, to Mary Sargent, of an old New England family, 
the generations of her ancestors being: i, Hugh; 2, Roger: 3, William; 
4, John: 5, Jonathan; 6, Jonathan: 7, Phineas. She was born May 27, 



140 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

1774, in Leicester, Massachusetts, and died January 13, 1830, and was 
buried at Homer, Cortland county, New York. She was the mother of 
eleven children. Following is a fac-simile of the inscription on the tomb- 
stone of Dr. Moffat, in New Woodstock : 

" Doc. Joseph Moffet 
died April 3rd, 1820 
in the 52nd year of his age. 
His mind was tranquil & serene 
No terror in his looks were seen. 
His Saviour smild, dispeld the gloom 
-'\nd smoth.d his passage to the toomb." 

(V) Charles Denny Moffett was born April 27, 1813, in New 
Woodstock, Madison county, this state, and was left fatherless at the 
age of seven years. He had to start out for himself at an early age, 
and the following, written by himself, covers his early efforts: "The 
year 1826 I went to Homer to live, and worked at the harness business, 
and continued to work there and at Cortland village until the year 1828. 
I left Homer and went from there to Chittenango, and worked there 
for a Mr. Haight about six months, and then hired out for a year, to 
a Mr. A. F. Randall, and continued with him two years." About 1829 
he was led to begin the Christian life which marked the rest of his days. 
About 1832 he went to Paris Hill, Oneida county, removing thence to 
Rodman, Jefferson county, where Mr. Moffett carried on the harness 
and saddlery business. He paticipated actively in local affairs, and held 
a number of offices, among them that of justice of the peace, in which 
he served for many years. In 1854, with his family, excepting the 
eldest son, he went to Cedar county, Iowa, and returned the same year, 
preferring their old home to such a sparsely settled country, Mr. Mof- 
fett and his wife were among the organizers and leading members of 
the Methodist Episcopal church in Rodman. In 1870 he retired from 
business and moved to Watertown and, after a year or two, he and his 
wife went to make their home with their son, John F. Moffett. Charles 
D. Moffett died November 28, 1880, and was survived by his wife 
until October 20, 1894. They were married June 20, 1830, at Chitte- 
nango, the maiden name of Mrs. Moffett being Emily Hayman Knollin. 
She was born June 26, 1809, near Dartmouth, Devonshire, England, a 
daughter of Richard and granddaughter of Richard Knollin. She came 
to .America with her father's family in 1827. Mr. and Mrs. Moffett were 
the parents of seven children — Joseph Knollin, a resident of Watertown, 
Charles Wesley, Emily Maria, William Henry (died young), John 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 1-tl 

Fletcher, Emma Missouri (wife of Harris Barnum, of Rockford, Illi- 
nois, died in 1903), and Frances Amelia (Mrs. Homer H. Rice, died 
in 1901). 

(VI) John Fletcher Moffett, fourth son and fifth child of Charles 
D. and Emily H. (Knollin) Moffett, was born April 15, 1841, at Paris 
Hill, Oneida county. New York. He received his education in the com- 
mon schools and at the Jefferson County Institute, and in. i860 was 
employed in the National Bank and Loan Company of Watertown, where 
he remained about five years. In 1866 he helped to organize the Mer- 
chants' Bank, in which he was thereafter a stockholder and director, 
and in which he held until 1880 the office of cashier. He then became 
a contractor for waterworks, electric lights, street railroads and telephone 
lines. In this undertaking he was signally successful, building railroads 
and waterworks, establishing communication by telephone and introduc- 
ing the benefits of electric lighting in one hundred different towns and 
cities, and visiting almost every state in the Union and also' Canada. 

Such is the energy of Mr. Moffett's character that the demands of 
his chosen calling, great as they are, have proved insufficient for its 
exercise, and various other enterprises have reaped the benefit of the 
impetus w hich he never fails to impart to any undertaking with 
which he may be associated. From 1864 to 1869 he was president of 
the board of water commissioners and in 1875 acted as treasurer of the 
Watertown Manufacturers' Aid Association, which was dissolved at the 
end of two years. On the organization of the Watertown board of trade 
in 1889 he became one of the directors. In 188 1 he was one of the 
incorporators of the Central Park Association of Alexandria, and he 
was for a time city treasurer of Watertown. It is to him in part that the 
city is indebted for its Young Men's Christian Association, of which he 
was one of the incorporators and in which he held for one year the 
office of president. He is a member of the State Street Methodist Epis- 
copal church, in which for many years he served as steward. 

Mr. Moffett married in January, 1862, Frances P., daughter of 
Enoch L. Todd, who was a son of one of the early settlers of the town 
of Rodman (see Todd, IX). Of the seven children born tO' Mr. and 
Mrs. Moffett five are living: Charles T., who resides in Chicago; Jean- 
nette T., who is engaged in university settlement work in New York; 
Grace E., who is the wife of Louis S. Lansing; Frances S., who married 
Frank H. Coyne, of Chicago; and Earle Mortimer, who is studying 
forestry at Biltmore. North Carolina. Mrs. Moffett, who is active in 



U-2 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

good works, is one of tb.e directresses of the Jefferson County Orphan 

Asylum. 

(III) Aquilla Mofl'att, son of Joseph (i) and Mary Moffat, was 
born about 1740, in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, and settled in North 
Adams, Massachusetts. He served in the French and Indian wars, and, 
in old age, moved to Plainfield, New York, where he died. He had four 
sons and two daugliters. namely: Isaac, Alexander Conkey, Alanson, 
Melvin, Mary and Mehetable. 

(IV) Alexander Conkey Moffatt was born in 1771, in North 
Adams, Massachusetts, whence he moved to Otsego county, New York, 
and in 1818 came to Brownville, where he settled on a farm. He mar- 
ried Olive Hin'man, by whom he was the father of the following chil- 
dren: I. Aquilla, mentioned at length hereinafter. 2. Persis. 3. 
Jonathan. 4. Hosea, who married Julia, daughter of Benjamin and 
Julia (Taylor) Prior, of Brownville, and had two children — James S. 
and Bruce; the former married Nancy, daughter of Richard and Mary 
(Avery) Buckminster, and their children are Charles E. and Gertrude 
C. 5. Olivia. 6. Orlando. 7. Ann. 8. Alexander C. 9. Reuben H. 
Mr. Mofifatt, the father of this family, died in 1841, in Brownville. He 
was among the best of the pioneer citizens, and one to whom the town- 
ship owes much. 

(V) Aquilla Moffatt, eldest son of A. Conkey and Olive (Hinman) 
Mofifatt, was born in 1796, in Plainfield, New York, but early in life be- 
came a resident of Brownville, where the remainder of his days was 
passed. He married Alice Pattie/who was born in 1800, and they were 
the parents of nine children: David, mentioned at length hereinafter; 
Persis, George, Betsey, Susan, Samuel, Jane, Myra, James. Mrs. Moffatt 
died in 1869, and her husband passed away a few years before. 

(VI) David Moffatt, son of Aquilla and Alice (Pattie) Moffatt. 
was born October 3, 1820, in Brownville. where he was educated in the 
common schools. From early youth he was engaged in agricultural 
pursuits, in which he was very successful, having a fine farm of three 
hundred and fifty acres which he cultivated in the most thorough and 
scientific manner. He was also for a number of years the proprietor of 
a grist mill. He was active in the duties of citizenship and served two 
terms as assessor. His political affiliations were with the Republican 
party. 

Mr. Moffatt married Rachael, daughter of Samuel and Effie (Car- 
son) Knapp. The former was born in 1800. in Mayfield. but spent the 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 143 

greater part of his life in Brownville. He and his wife (who was born 
in 1801, were the parents of the following children: Solomon, John, 
Benjamin, David, Jacob, Hiram, Rachael, who was born in 1825, in 
Mayfield, and became the wife of David Mofifatt, as mentioned above; 
Sarah, Hannah. Mr. and Mrs. Knapp, who were both respected mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, are now deceased. 

The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Moffatt : 
Frances, who married W. Timmerman, of Dexter, and is now deceased ; 
Jay, who is also deceased ; Wells, who resides in Watertown ; Ida, John 
and Austin, all of whom are deceased ; Ella, who became the wife of 
John Jackson; Willis, who lives in Black River; Kate, who married 
Charles Swartoutt ; Mary, who is deceased ; and Edwin, mentioned at 
length hereinafter. Mr. Mofifatt, the father, a man respected by all, died 
in 1872, while yet in the prime of life. His widow, who is a member 
of the Methodist Episcopal church, is still living at an advanced age. 
She resides with her daughter in Dexter. 

(Vn) Edwin Mofifatt, son of David and Rachael (Knapp) Moffatt, 
was born November 13, 1847, in Brownville, where he received his edu- 
cation. He assisted his father on the farm until the death of the latter, 
when the entire management of the estate passed into the hands of Mr. 
Mofifatt, who completed the purchase of the farm, buying out the interest 
of the other heirs, thus becoming sole owner of the property. Under 
his energetic and highly competent management the farm, which is the 
largest in the town of Brownville, was rendered extremely productive 
and profitable, having attached to it a dairy of forty-six cows, by means 
of which the owner engaged extensively in the business of butter making. 
He was appointed a member of the Produce Exchange, and for five years 
acted as salesman of Pillar Point Union factory, selling, each year, about 
one thousand two hundred boxes of cheese of seventy pounds each. 
In 1901 Mr. Mofifatt resigned the management of the farm into the hands 
of his sons, by whom its deservedly high reputation has been most ably 
maintained, the broad acres being thoroughly cultivated, and the dairy 
having increased to the number of fifty cows. Mr. MofTatt is a member 
of Chaumont Grange. He takes an active interest in the afifairs of the 
township, and his neighbors have frequently testified in a pleasing man- 
ner to the confidence which they repose in him. For two years he served 
as assessor, and in 1901 was elected supervisor. In 1903 he was re- 
elected to serve until 1905. In politics he adheres to the doctrines and 
principles of the Republicans. He is a mem.ber of the Presbyterian 
church of Dexter, and a Constant attendant upon public worship. 



lU GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

church of Dexter, and a constant attendant upon pubhc worship. 

Mr. Moffatt married, in 1871, Ahce G. ColHns, and the following 
children were born to them: i. Horace, who died at the age of eighteen 
months. 2. Harry, who was one year old at the time of his death. 
3. Sarah, who married Charles Adams and is the mother of two chil- 
dren, Niles and Irene. Mr. and Mrs. Adams reside on one of Mr. 
Moffatt's farms. 4. Susy, who resides at home. 5. Daniel, who also 
lives on one of the farms owned by Mr. Mofifatt. Since his retirement 
from the active labors of the farm Mr. Moffatt has made his home in 
Limerick. Mrs. Moffatt died March 10, 1904, at her home there. She 
was held in the highest esteem by all who knew her and her friends 
were legion. She had been ill but one week with typhoid pneumonia. 

Mrs. Mofifatt was a daughter of Thomas and Martha (Hamblin) 
Collins, the former a farmer of Orleans. He and his wife were the 
parents of the following children: Alice G., who was born in 1850, 
in Orleans, and became the wife of Edwin Moffatt, as mentioned above; 
Addie, who married Rodolphus Hoover; Charles, who is a resident of 
Clayton ; and Elizabeth, who lives with her mother at Stone Mills. In 
addition to these children who are living there was another who is now 
deceased. Mr. Collins, the father, died in 1901, in Brownville, where 
his whole life had been passed, and where he left behind him the name of 
an upright man and a good citizen. 

Thomas Collins was a son of John B. Collins, an early resident of 
what is now Orleans, and an active and prominent citizen, who was 
supervisor of the town in 1838-9. John B. was a son of William Collins, 
who settled in Orleans in 1820, or earlier (see Collins, IV). 

RENSSELAER ALLSTON OAKES. (By J. A. Ellis.) In the 
death of R. A. Oakes, which occurred at his home in Watertown, April 
23, 1904, Jefferson county lost one of its most learned, and exemplary 
men, and many lost a most esteemed personal friend. To all the reading 
public ©f this and other states his name was well known, as that of a 
scholar and searcher after the truths of history and science. He was 
bom of true New England stock, and his daily life was an exposition 
of the traits and virtues which have made the native "Yankee" pre- 
eminent in accomplishment and development. The ancestral line is one 
to he proud of, and is here given : 

(I) Nathaniel Oak, the immigrant ancestor, was, traditionally, 
from Wales, but of English stock. He was born about 1645, and came 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 145 

to America about 1660, being the only survivor of those on an EngHsh 
vessel wrecked on the Massachusetts coast, on which he sailed as cabin 
boy. As a minor, he was bound out to earn his living, and was em- 
ployed in gathering pine knots. While thus engaged he killed a wildcat, 
and was given the bounty paid by the commonwealth, with which he 
bought a sheep or two, the foundation of his fortune. These facts are 
found in his own account, handed down to his grandchildren, and 
written in the family Bible. From 1686 to his death, February 17, 
1 72 1, he appears in various town and county records of land trans- 
actions. He served in garrison and took part in a fight with Indians, 
in defense of the borders. He acquired considerable land through his 
first wife, and was in fairly prosperous circumstances. His farm is 
the locally famous "Peter Whitney Place," in Northboro, Massachu- 
setts, which town is a part of what was originally Marlborough, and 
subsequently Westboro. The place has been occupied for the last forty 
years and more by Samuel McClure. The original house was burned, 
and the present one built in 1780. His body was buried in an old 
burying ground near by, now abandoned. His children, as they grew 
up, married and settled on farms in the same town (then Westboro), 
and only one ever left the county. He was married December 14, 1686, 
to Mehetabel Radiat, daughter of John and Ann Radiat, born 1646, 
and died 1702, leaving no children. Mr. Oak married second, May 20, 
1703, Mary Hollaway, daughter of Adam and Hannah (Hay ward) 
Hollaway, and widow of Jacob Farrar, who was killed in Philip's war, 
1675. She was born 1682, and married (third) Thomas Rice, 1722. 
She died after 1733. Nathaniel and Mary Oak were the parents of 
eight children. Nathaniel, the first, is mentioned further below. William 
was burned to death, with five others, at Shrewsbury, in 1723. Hannah 
married Gershom May, had eight children, and died in 1807, in her 
one-hundredth year. Mary married Dan Maynard, had seven children 
and died at the age of ninety-five years, in 1805. Ann was (probably 
the first) wife of Dan Maynard, and had eight children. John, who 
died in 1752, had five children and twelve hundred descendants. All in 
this line, and a few in others, retain the original spelling of the name, 
"Oak." John served with Wolfe at Quebec, and was the only one of 
the family who left Massachusetts. He settled in Skowhegan, Maine, 
and wrote his name, "Oaks," in later life. He was four times married, 
and had sixteen children who grew up. His descendants number about 
five thousand. George served in both colonial and Revolutionary wars. 



■146 GEXEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

and died after 1777. He had two wives, eight children, and seven hund- 
red of his descendants have been registered. 

(II) Nathaniel, eldest child of Nathaniel and jMary Oak. was 
born lune 7. 1704, in Marlborough, and died in 1783. He lived on the 
paternal farm until 1745, and all but one of his children were born 
there. In that year he bought a farm on Long Hill, in the town of Bol- 
ton, where he spent the rest of his life. He held some minor offices, 
such as highway surveyor and tithing man. According to his will, 
made in 1781, he and his wife "being aged and poor," the income of 
the youngest son's estate was left to the widow for their support. Both 
died before 1795, when the estate was distributed. He was first -mar- 
ried February 20, 1727, to Tabitha. daughter of Edward and Lydia 
(Fairbanks) Rice. She was bom 1706, and died before 1736, and was 
the mother of two cliildren. Mr. Oak married (second) June 7. 1736, 
Keziah Maynard, daughter of David and Hannah Maynard. She was 
born 1703, and died about 1797. being the mother of four children. The 
children were: William. Seth, Tabitha. Nathaniel. Beriah and ^lind- 
well. 

(III) Seth. second son and child of Nathaniel and Tabitha Oak. 
was Ixirn April 8, 1733, and died April 24, 1810 (possibly, 1814). Cap- 
tain Seth Oak, as he was known — though he never held a commission — 
served in the colonial war, 1755-60, and settled in Winchendon, Massa- 
chusetts, in 1764. At the Lexington Alarm. 1775, he served as sergeant, 
and at \\'inter Hill as quartermaster-sergeant. In 1763 he was one 
of a company to which Lunenburg, Vermont, was chartered, but (by 
tradition) .sold out his interest before arrival there, for a glass of grog. 

In 1779, he went with two others to Athens, Vermont, and built a 
log cabin, to which they moved their families in the spring of 1780. 
He and two sons were original grantees of the town, and his daughter 
Polly was the first child born in Athens. The farm was occupied in 
1900 by Daniel Wilcox. Seth spent his last days at the home of his 
daughter, in Townshend, Vermont. His descendants number about eight 
hundred, and in some lines the original name. Oak, is retained. He 
was married May 25. 1759, to Elizabeth Shevally, of Stow, Massachu- 
setts, and they were the parents of seven children, namely : Calvin. 
Nathaniel, Saloma, John, Thomas, Ebenezer and Polly. 

(IV) Nathaniel, second son and child of Seth and Elizabeth Oak, 
was ham 1762. in Templeton or Harvard. Massachusetts, and died 
March 25. 1830. in Athens, where he was a farmer. Like his father. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 117 

he served in the Revolutionary war, probably enlisting several times, 
certainly on July 13, 1780, being eighteen years old, and five feet seven 
inches in height. He was one of the proprietors of Athens. According 
to one "History of Vermont," "Nathaniel Oak wanted a certain bewitch- 
ing beauty; Amaziah Rockham wanted the b. b. too." In a fight between 
them, Oak got a sound whipping, but — he also got the girl. He was 
married about 1787 to Susannah Evans, who died October 12, 1842, 
aged seventy-two years. Their children were : Sally, Clarissa, Willard, 
Ebenezer, Sarah, Clarissa (2), Simeon, Nathaniel, William and Lucius. 

(V) Simeon, third son and seventh child o-f Nathaniel and Su- 
sannah Oakes, was born September 27, 1803, in Athens, Vermont, and 
died October i, 1862, on his farm in South Rutland, this county. He 
was a very active man of business, as farmer, hotel-owner, merchant, 
miller, and manufacturer. Soon after attaining his majority he moved 
to Mayville, New York, whence he removed tO' this county in the late 
fall of 1836. Here he purchased land, largely upon credit, and in a few 
years became prosperous, being the largest business man of his section. 
He opened a store and conducted a large ashery and a grist mill, was an 
extensive dealer in cattle for many years, and at the time of his death 
was considered a rich man for his time. He was a lifelong Democrat, 
but refused to be a candidate for office. His wife was a member of 
the Methodist church, and he was a liberal contributor in support of and 
faithful attendant upon the preaching of the gospel, but never united 
with any religious organization. 

He was married (first), March 4, 1823, to Florilla Davis, who was 
the mother of his children. She was born January 20, 1806, in Ver- 
mont, and died May 12, 1846, in South Rutland. Mr. Oakes married 
(second) Rosetta Crosby, February 22, 1847. The children are noted 
as follows : Oscar Simeon was a merchant at South Rutland, where 
he died in 1875. Jane Maria died, unmarried, in 1845. Harriet Minerva 
married Allen Waldo, was the mother of two children, and died in 
1866 (see Waldo). Nathaniel Davis died in San Francisco in 1894. 

(VI) Rensselaer Allston Oakes, fifth and youngest child of Simeon 
and Florilla Oakes, was born May 17, 1835, in Mayville, New York, 
and was eighteen months old when his parents moved to Rutland. He 
grew up in the village known as Tylerville (South Rutland postoffice), 
where his primary education was received. He was subsequently a 
student at Black River Institute, a Watertown institution, and finished 
at Cazenovia Seminary. Always a student, after leaving the seminary 



us GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

he began a course of study at home, witli a view to entering the min- 
istry of the UniversaHst church. His early marriage turned his atten- 
tion to the need of an immediate and remunerative occupation, and he 
entered upon a business career in 1856, opening a grocery store on the 
north side of "The Square," in Watertown. Subsequently, he was em- 
ployed by H. P. Cooke, in the dry-goods business and, for a year, 
covering parts of 1865 and 1866, was editor of the Jefferson County 
Union. He was again an editor in 1873-4, upon the Watertozmi Post 
and. a little later, was city editor of the Times. He was engaged in 
the dr}--goods trade at Middletown, New York, about three years, and 
conducted a crockery store in Watertown in partnership with the late 
Leonard Murray, under the title of Murray & Oakes, for eighteen months, 
and from 1872 to 1876 he continued the business alone, when he retired 
from active business and gave his attention wholly to research. During 
■ the last forty-nine years of his life he resided at No. 64 State street. For 
eighteen years he was manager of the Watertown Book Club, and was 
a charter member of the Jefferson County Historical Society, of which 
he was corresponding secretary and custodian during the last ten years 
of his life. His enthusiasm and ability were recognized as the staying 
elements which kept up the organization, and his death was a severe 
blow to the society's life and usefulness. He was a contributor to the 
"Independent," the "Century," and other publications, and published a 
volume of poems in 1839. 

The late Orlo B. Rhodes, editor of the IVatcrtown Standard, was 
a lifelong friend of Mr. Oakes, and his tribute to the character of his 
friend, written the day following his death, is given as the closing para- 
graph of this notice, summing up fairly the work of his lifetime. 

R. A. Oakes was married September 11, 1855, to Miss Myra Mooar, 
who was born December 28, 1834, in Hollis, New Hampshire, a daugh- 
ter of Jason and Martha (Crombie) Mooar, the former a native of 
Hollis and the latter of Rindge, New Hampshire. Mrs. Oakes died 
August 13, 1887, leaving an only child, who is mentioned in a later 
paragraph. 

The Watertoiiin Standard, of April 25, 1904, said of Mr. Oakes: 
"He was a man of extensive learning, an omnivorous reader and a deep 
student of metaphysics and psychology. Among his papers are em- 
bodied the result of much thought and scholarly appreciation of many 
abstruse mental problems, which have never been published. Coming 
here when Watertown was but a village, and having been all his life 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 149 

identified with the best business and intellectual interests of the city, he 
possessed an extensive acquaintance, and kept firm hold upon the esteem 
of all who knew him. His reputation as a student and finely educated 
thinker brought to his home many of the ministers and public men of 
the city, who found in him a wise counselor and an able critic. A lifelong 
Democrat, while never a politician, he exercised considerable influence 
in the councils of his party, and his opinion carried much weight. He 
was very quiet and unassuming, an interesting talker, positive of con- 
viction and able to express himself forcibly and with elegance. Had he 
been more self-assertive, he would ha\-e been far more widely known, 
but he enjoyed books too fully to care to leave his quiet study for the 
hurry and clamor of public life." 

"Mr. Oakes was quick to appreciate favors and to return them in 
the matter of books, and the mutual exchange of such favors has been 
with us one of the delights of our ten years' of editorial work in this 
city. Mr. Oakes was a charming writer, and he was as fond of flowers 
as he was of books. His delight was in his garden and among his books. 
For him the painful riddle of existence is solved, which still stares us 
in the face. May the earth rest lightly upon him of a restless mind, 
who should naturally have been spared another decade of life and service 
in his own peculiar way." 

(VH) Robert Paul Oakes, only child of R. A. and Myra Oakes, 
was born March g, 1857, in Watertown, in whose public schools he 
pursued his earlier studies, finishing at St. John's school, Manlius, New 
York. Upon leaving school his business career was begun in assisting 
in his father's store. After a short period in Boston he entered the 
dry-goods establishment in which his father was formerly engaged, 
now conducted by O. B. Cadwell. After spending fourteen years in 
that store, he engaged with A. Bushnell & Company, where he has been 
occupied during the last eight years, being now in charge of the silk 
department. He was married March 21, 1888, to Miss Cora Campbell, 
who was born March 14, 1868, at Central Square, New York, daughter 
of Lorenzo and Ida (Breed) Campbell, both natives of that place. The 
only child of Robert P, and Cora Oakes is Harold Robert, born May 13, 
1889, riow a student of the Watertown high school. 

JOHN N. CARLISLE, a prominent attorney of Watertown and 
secretary of the Democratic state committee, is a representative of one 
of the oldest families of Jefferson county, and descended from early 



150 GEXEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

residents of this country. There can be no doubt that the name came 
from Scotland and has been borne by leaders in that country as well as 
in this. 

(I) The first of whom record is now found, among the progen- 
itors of the subject of this sketch, was David Carlisle, whose wife was 
Abigail Stowell, residing in Freehold, Monmouth county. New Jersey. 

(IT) William, fourth son of David and Abigail (Stowell) Car- 
lisle, was born September 29, 1767, in Freehold, and married (March 
23, 1789) Elizabeth Anderson, of Reading, Somerset county, same state. 
They were the parents of two children. 

(III) Dr. William Carlisle, son of William and Elizabeth (An-, 
derson) Carlisle, was born October 20, 1793, at South Amboy, New 
Jersey, and was married December 31, 18 18, to Lydia Schuler. Soon 
after his marriage he came to this state, and finally settled at Three 
Mile Bay in 1830. His active years were passed there in the practice 
of his profession, and when old age overtook him he removed to Elgin, 
Illinois, where he resided with his son, James Carlisle, until his death, 
March 24. 1868. While he \\as a resident of Jefiferson county he was 
at one time its representative in the state legislature, and served as 
supervisor of the town of Lyme during the years 1842, 1853 and 1854. 
He left six children. 

(IV) John C. Carlisle, son of Dr. W'illiam and Lydia (Schuler) 
Carlisle, was born February 24. 1820, at Charleston, New Jersey, and 
was married to Pamelia Waffle March 31, 1842. He was a farmer by 
occupation, and died June 28, 1866, at Preble, Cortland county, this 
state. His children were named as follows : William S., Victoria Ade- 
laide, Ann F. (married Perry S. Haynes of Preble, New York), Lewis 
F., and Sarah Ella (now Mrs. Wayne ^V. Burdick of Watertown), and 
James A. 

(V) William S. Carlisle, eldest child of John C. and Pamelia 
(Waffle) Carlisle, was born July 16, 1843, '" the town of Lyme, this 
county, and now resides at Dayton, Ohio. He commenced the study 
of law in Senator Starbuck's law office at the city of Watertown, but 
abandoned his books to enlist in the service of his country. He served 
as a private in Company M, Tenth New York Heavy Artillery, until 
the close of the Civil war, after which he turned his attention to me- 
chanical pursuits. He is an expert -mechanic in the service of the Davis 
Sewing Machine Company, which began business in Watertown, and 
removed with it to Dayton. He was supervisor of the first ward of 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 151 

this city during the year 1887, was chief of the fire department in 1874-5, 
and Democratic candidate for mayor of tlie city in 1884. In the same 
year he was vice grand of Watertown City Lodge, Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows. He was married September 20, 1865, to Catherine 
Rose Burdick, daughter of Hon. Nelson Burdick (see Burdick). She 
died September 24, 1885. A brief account of her children follows: 
John N. is the subject of later paragraphs. Wayne B., the second, 
was born June 6, 1868, in Watertown, and died at Miles City, Montana, 
whither he had gone in search of health, November 10, 1897. During 
the administrations of Governors Flower and Black, he was a clerk in 
the executive department at Albany. Lewis W., born March 12, 1878, 
in Watertown, was educated in the public schools of Dayton, Ohio. 
While a law student at Watertown he was a member of the Thirty-ninth 
Separate Company, and enlisted at the outbreak of the Spanish-American 
war, as a member of Company M, Seventy-first New York Volunteers. 
He was wounded at the battle of Santiago, Cuba, July 5, 1898, and 
died as a result, at St. Peter's Hospital, Brooklyn, July 29, 1902, and 
was buried with military honors in Brookside Cemetery, Watertown. 
Fievious to his injury he was war correspondent of the Watertown 
Daily Times. Floyd L., born March 5, 1881, was educated at Dayton, 
Ohio, graduated in 1903 at Cornell University, where he was president 
of the sophomore and senior classes and leader of Cornell debating teams 
in 1902-3, and is now studying law at Watertown, New York. 

(VI) John N. Carlisle was born August 2:\, 1866, in Preble, 
New York, and has resided in Watertown since he was two years of 
age. He was educated m the city public schools, graduating from the 
high school in 1884. He then took up the study of law in the office of 
Hon. Henry Purcell, and was admitted an attorney at law February 15, 
1889. For some years he was a partner of his former preceptor, under 
the style of Purcell and Carlisle, and is now a member of the well 
known firm of Brown, Carlisle & Hugo, with a handsome suite of offices 
on Stone street, and enjoying a large and most lucrative practice. 

Mr. Carlisle has taken an active part in political movements since 
attauiing his majority, and has been the recipient of honors in his home 
town, though his party has usually been in the minority. He was city 
attorney in 1892 and 1893. From 1888 to 1890 he was secretary of the 
Jefiferson county Democratic committee, and its chairman from 1891 to 
1896. Since the last named year he has been a member of the state 
central committee, and its secretaiw since 1898. He was made chairman 



152 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

of the Democratic slate executive committee in 1902, and had charge of 
the Coler campaign, and was a delegate to the national convention at 
St. Louis in 1904. He was president of the Jeffersonian Club, a political 
organization, in 1892-3, and is a member of the Union Club, the leading 
social organization of the city. Mr. Carlisle is an honored member of 
the Masonic fraternity, and was elected president of the Watertown 
High School Alumni in 1904. On January 17, 1902, he was elected 
captain of Company C, Fourth Battalion (Thirty-ninth Separate Com- 
pany), National Guard of New York. 

Mr. Carlisle was married January 17, 1894, to Miss Carrie C. 
Brown, a daughter of Edmond Brown, of Pulaski, New York, and has 
one child, Catherine Caroline. 

Of genial and social nature, Mr. Carlisle makes and retains friends, 
and is popular with his associates everywhere. He is one of the youngest 
men entrusted with the direction of large political movements in this 
country, and has always been found faithful and competent, either as 
an attorney or political leader. 

BURDICK. This name is found among the pioneers of Jefiferson 
county, and is traced through New England ancestors, who settled early 
in Rhode Island and were conspicuous in the civil and religious life of 
the colony. 

(I) Robert Burdick is of record at Newport, Rhode Island, as 
early as November 19, 1652, when he was baptized by Rev. Joseph 
Torrey. He was made a freeman May 22, 1655. He married Novem- 
ber 2, 1655, Ruth, wbo was born January 11, 1640, daughter of Samuel 
and Tacy (Cooper) Hubbard. His name was in a list of inhabitants 
of Westerly, Rhode Island, May 18, 1669, and he took the oath of alle- 
giance May 17, 1671. In July, 1675, owing to the war with the Indians, 
he and his family went to Newport, returning subsequently to Westerly. 
He was deputy to the general court in 1680, 1683 and 1685. He died 
in 1692, and his wife passed away in the previous year. Their children 
were: Robert, (a son, name unknown), Hubbard, Thomas, Naomi, 
Ruth, Benjamin, Samuel, Tacy and Deborah. 

(II) Hubbard, third son and child of Robert and Ruth Burdick, 
married Hannah, daughter of John and Mary (Moshier) Maxson, and 
lived in Westerly and Hopkinton (the latter town being originally a part 
of Westerly). He was one of thirty-four who purchased, in 171 1, up- 
wards of five thousand acres of vacant lands, and was a member of 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 153 

the town council in 1727. He died in 1758, his wife having passed 
away in 1752. Their children were: Hubbard, Nathan, John and 
Ezekiel. 

(III) Nathan, second son and child of Hubbard and Hannah 
Burdick, was born February 19, 17 18-9, and was married October 14, 
1743, to Goodeth Maxson. She was born June 5, 1726, a daughter 
of John and Hannah Maxson of Westerly. He resided in Hopkinton, 
where he died in 1793. Seven of his children are of record there, and 
the birth of the second is also recorded in Westerly. They are as fol- 
lows: Tillemus, May 30, 1745; Sylvanus, September 17, 1747; Good- 
eth, April 17, 1 751; Tacy, October 12, 1754; Adam, December 28, 
1759; Naaman, July 18, 1762; Sheppard, October 18, 1766. 

(IV) Adam, third son and fifth child of Nathan and Goodeth 
(Maxson) Burdick, was born December 28, 1759, in Hopkinton. He 
was for a few years a resident of West Winfield, Herkimer county, and 
was an early settler at Point Peninsula, in the town of Lyme, this 
county, where he purchased one hundred acres of land, on which a 
slight improvement had been made, and began clearing and developing a 
farm. He died there February 20, 1845, from the effects of a kick from 
a horse in his ninety-sixth year. His wife, Elizabeth Moors, was a 
native of Herkimer county. They were the parents of four sons. 
Winslow M., the eldest, died in 1902, in Brooklyn, where he had been 
engaged in business since 1840. Nelson, the second, receives further 
mention below. Sheffield resides at Cape Vincent. Wayne died on 
the homestead at Point Peninsula. Adam Burdick was a lifelong 
Democrat, and was respected as a citizen in Lyme, where he filled some 
of the local offices. 

(V) Nelson, second son and child of Adam and Elizabeth 
(Moors) Burdick, was born December 28, 1820, at Point Peninsula, 
where he attended the common school, subsequently going to the Water- 
town high school. He was supervisor of the town of Lyme in 1856, 
and mayor of the city of Watertown in 1882-3. He was also assessor 
of the city and a member of the board of public works. He was mar- 
ried March 7, 1844, tO' Catherine Getman, who died in 1846. He after- 
ward married Delia Getman, who is still his companion. His eldest 
child, Catherine Rose, born March 12, 1846, became the wife of William 
S. Carlisle, as elsewhere related (see Carlisle). The others were: 
DeHa E., Aletta May. Kittie, Wayne W.. Jessie D., Alfred M., Dora 
B. and Rose A. The last named is the wife of John Carey, residing in 



154 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMiLY HISTORY. 

Decatur, Illinois. Tlie sons, Wayne \V. and Alfred ]\I. Burdick, are now 
engaged in the coal business at Watertown. 

FRANK ALPHONSO FLETCHER, president of the Watertown 
Builders' Supply Company and one of the leading men of the city, por- 
trays in his character and purposes many of the traditions of older New 
England. Descended from a long line of worthy ancestors, he has 
sustained the honor and credit of his name, and possesses a conserv- 
atism that has kept his operations upon a substantial basis, as opposed 
to the showy ventures of speculative wealth. 

The name Fletcher originated in that part of the Canton Vaud, 
Switzerland, which was formerly Burgundian, and is of Burgundian 
French character. It comes from de la Flechiere, bender of the bow. 
It was transpoited to England in the time of the Norman conquest, and 
has been honored many times in both England and America. 

(I) Robert Fletcher, the first in America, was born in 1592, and 
settled in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1630, being then thirty-eight years 
of age and having two sons and a daughter — Luke, William and Cary. 
He was a wealthy and influential man, and died April 3, 1677, at Con- 
cord. Sons, Samuel and Francis, appear in the records, and may have 
been born after his arrival. 

(II) William, second son and child of Robert Fletcher, was born 
(1622) in England, and was eight years old when he came with his 
father to Concord. October 7. 1645, he married Lydia Bates and set- 
tled in Chelmsford in 1653. His land embraced what is now the city 
of Lowell, and part of his farm has been continuously in possession of 
his descendants, by one of whom it is now occupied. He died November 
6, 1677, and his widow passed away October 12, 1704. They had four 
sons and three daughters. 

(III) Joshua, eldest son and second child of William and Lydia 
Fletcher, was born March 30, 1648, in Concord, and was twice married. 
The first wife was Grissies Jewel!, who was wedded May 4, 1668, and 
died January 16, 1682. Sarah Willy became his wife July 18, 1682. 
There were two sons by the first marriage, and five sons and 'three 
daughters by the second. 

(IV) John, son of Joshua and Sarah Fletcher, was born May 7, 
1687, in Clielmsford. In 1712 he married Hannah Phelps of Lancaster, 
Massachusetts, where he settled and built a house on George's Hill. 
This homestead remained in possession of his descendants until 1868. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 155 

His wife died April lo, 1737, aged fifty-one years. Their first four chil- 
dren were sons and the last three daughters, all born in Lancaster. 

(V) Joshua, youngest son of John and Hannah (Phelps) Fletcher, 
was born December 26, 1724, and married Mary, daughter of Ebenezer 
and Sarah Allen, May 15, 1748. He died November 13, 1814, in the 
house where he was born and always lived. At the time of the Revo- 
lution, he was one of the committee of safety. He was a farmer, and 
left his plow in the furrow and rode to Concord to join the patriots, in 
tbe Lexington Alarm. At that time he was over fifty years old. His 
wife died July 25, 1813. He had eight sons and three daughters. 

(VI) Peter, seventh child and sixth son of Joshua and Mary Flet- 
cher, was born September 5, 1762, in Lancaster, and married Sarah Piper 
January 28, 1787. He settled in Alstead, New Hampshire, and subse- 
quently removed to Bennington, same state, where he died November, 
1843. His wife survived him over five years, dying December 31, 1848, 
aged eighty-three years, at the home of her daughter in Lowell, Massa- 
chusetts. She was a member of the Baptist church, and was the mother 
of three sons and seven daughters. 

(VH) Lewis Allen, ninth child and youngest son of Peter and Sar- 
ah Fletcher, was born October 10, 1804, in Alstead, New Hampshire, and ' 
was married July 7, 1832, to Betsey M. Gregg. As a boy he was con- 
nected with the paper manufacturing business, and himself manufactured 
paper at Bennington. He went to Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1849, ^"^ 
operated two mills there. In 1S51 he came to this state, and operated 
mills on the Hudson, one in LHster county and the other in Dutchess. 
Li 1854 he went to the wilds of v.-estern Wisconsin, where he purchased 
large tracts of land, and died August 10, 1856, in Pierce county, that 
state. He had three sons and three daughters. 

( Vni) Frank A. Fletcher, second son and child of Lewis A. and 
Betsey Fletcher, was born February 23, 1838, in Bennington, New 
Hampshire, and early became familiar with the details of his father's 
business. He inherited his father's business foresight and large grasp 
of affairs. The Civil war came as an interruption tO' his business career 
and he enlisted May i, 1861, in the Second Regiment, New Hampshire 
Infantry. Company G. He served more than three years, and was in 
eighteen engagements, among which were the first and second Bull Run, 
Yorktown, Malvern Hill, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg, where he was 
wounded, and proved himself everywhere a brave and ready soldier. On 
account of his injury he received from Secretarv Stanton a pass allow- 



166 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

ing him the freedom of the army, and he became a sutler with the Army 
of the Potomac. He was offered a commission, but decHned the honor. 
In November, 1865, he went to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and engaged 
in the manufacture of paper. Before the war he had been connected 
with paper mills at Springfield, Massachusetts, and other places, and 
in 1868 he assumed the management of a paper mill at Newark, New 
Jersey. After that he went to Musconeckong, New Jersey, where, in 
1873, he built a paper mill for the Warren Manufacturing Company. 

In 1874 Mr. Fletcher became a resident of Watertown, and was em- 
ployed twelve years following as manager of the mill of Knowlton Broth- 
ers. He then bought the mill at Great Bend, this county, which he 
sold afterward to Taggart Brothers. In 1901 he bought the business 
which he has sir.ce conducted, being president of the company and owner 
of the greater part of the stcick. The business has been successful under 
his management, and much of the material sold is manufactured by the 
company. These include hollow concrete building blocks, asbestos boiler 
covering and wall plaster, fire cement and stove lining. A large variety 
of the products of other manufacturers is also afforded to its custom- 
ers. 

Mr. Fletcher is prominent in the social and club life of the town, 
and holds membership in the Union Club and Lincoln League. He 
identifies himself with all movements conducive to the public welfare, 
and has long been a valuable friend of the Jefferson County Orphan 
Asylum, of which he has been a trustee for many years, and also of the 
Young Men's Christian Association. He is an Episcopalian in religious 
faith and an earnest supporter of Republican principles. 

He was married October 16, 1868, to Miss Ida La Due, of New- 
burgh, New York, and his family includes four children, namely : Flora 
D., Antoinette F., Frank H. and Bessie M. The son is his father's as- 
sistant in busniess. 

SAMUEL FARW'ELL BAGG, of Watertcwn, prominent in busi- 
ness circles, and also well known as a man possessed of wide and varied 
information, comes of pioneer ancestry. His great grandfather, Moses 
Bagg, was the first settler of Utica, New York, where for many years 
he was the proprietor of the well known Bagg Hotel. His son, named 
Moses, had a son, Moses Mears Bagg, who was born July 13, 1816, in 
Utica, where he was for a long period known and respected as a skillful 
and conscientious physician. FTe was a man of vmcommon literary at- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 157 

tainments and was known as the author of two local histories. He 
married Maria, daughter of Samuel Farwell, of Utica, and they were the 
parents of six children. 

Samuel F. Bagg, son of Moses M. and Maria (Farwell) Bagg, was 
born September 13, 1848, in Utica. In 1869 he graduated from Hamil- 
ton College, receiving the degree of Baclielor of Arts, later Master of 
Arts. He also attended the Hamilton Law School, from which he grad- 
uated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, and later was admitted to 
the bar in Oneida county. For a few years he was engaged in teaching 
and subsequently bought a newspaper, which he edited for some time. 
He then obtained a clerkship in the Oneida County National Bank, at 
Utica, where he remained for about a year. Li 1876 he came to Water- 
town, in order to become secretary and treasurer of the Watertown 
Engine Company, which position he still holds. In 1887 he was one 
of the incorporators of the Tilden Paper Company, which subsequently 
passed into new ownership, being thenceforth known as the Ontario 
Paper Company. Mr. Bagg was director and vice-president. He held 
the same position in the Northern New York Marble Company. 

Among the other institutions and organizations with which Mr. 
Bagg is or was identified may be mentioned the Watertown Street Rail- 
way Company, the Watertown National Bank, and the Watertown Sav- 
ings, Loan and Building Association. Of the last-mentioned organiza- 
tion he was the first president, while with the other two he was connected 
in the capacity of director. When the Watertown board of trade was 
organized Mr. Bagg became one of the vice-presidents. He has served 
as a trustee of the Flower Memorial Library, and when the cornerstone 
of the building was laid delivered an address remarkable for erudition. 

Mr. Bagg takes an active interest in educational and philanthropic 
work and has sensed as a member of the board of education. In 1884 
he was president of the Young Men's Christian Association. He belongs 
to the Masonic order, and is a member of the American Society of 
Mechanical Engineers. In the First Presbyterian church he has held for 
twenty years the office of elder and is also the teacher of a Bible class. 

Mr. Bagg married, September 3, 1874, Mary Louise, daughter of 
Charles C. Young, of Brooklyn, New York. .Their only child is named 
Eunice. In the community in which he resides Mr. Bagg is regarded as 
a man whose character presents the rare combination of the executive 
talents essential to a successful business career and the scholarlv instincts 



158 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

and attainments rarei\- to l)e found except in those whose hves have Ijeen 
devoted tn literary pursuits. 

JAMES BLACK WISE, ex-mayor of Watertovvn, and one of 
the most progressive and energetic of its citizens, is known to 
his contemporaries as a man who, Hke the present chief magistrate 
of the nation, "does things." His reputation is not confined to Water- 
town, hut he is an active and acknowledged contributor to the in- 
dustrial and social development of northern New York. Mr. Wise comes 
of sturdy German ancestry, and a fitting notice of his father, who was 
one of the active factors in developing Watertown's industrial prestige, 
is herewith given. 

Joseph Wise, a son of Joseph Wise, was born December 14. 1831, 
in Baden-Baden, Germany. The senior Joseph was for many years a 
highway commissioner in his native land, a position of much responsi- 
bility, and his last years were passed upon a farm in Formosa, province 
of Ontario, Canada, where he lived to a great age. 

Joseph Wise, junior, when eleven years old, went on an ocean voy- 
age with an uncle, and continued on the sea until he reached the age of 
fourteen. Arriving in New York, he was apprenticed to the machinist's 
trade, which, then as now in his native country, embraced a knowledge 
in all lines of working the baser metals. He mastered, in the course of 
seven years' apprenticeship, what is now separated into four trades — 
tool-maker, locksmith, brass-turner and machinist. With a natural bent 
for mechanics, and being industrious and painstaking, he became a very 
efficient worker in all these lines, and was soon called to direct others, as 
a foreman. After working a short time in New York as a journeyman, 
lie went to Branford, Connecticut, to take charge of the machine depart- 
ment of the Branford Lock Works. Here he remained in the neighbor- 
hood of fourteen years. 

In December, 1868, Mr. Wise became a citizen of Watertown, being 
called hither to take charge of a lock factory just established by a man 
named Wasson, formerly a bookkeeper at the Branford works. Con- 
tinuing this connection until 187 1, he was then employed by the Water- 
town Steam Engine Company, as machinist, in the plant now occupied 
and owned by his son. He w'as subsequently in charge of the press room 
of the Davis Sewing Machine Company and, later, operated a repair shop 
on Beebe's Island, in a building now owned and occupied by the New 
York Air Brake Company. His last machine shop was in the Van 



GENEALOGICAL AND. FAMILY HISTORY. 15y 

Namee & Smith Building, on Factory street, afterward occupied by the 
Hitchcock Lamp Company and now the property of the New York Air 
Brake Company. Mr. Wise embraced the faith of the Presbyterian 
church, and was a supporter of RepubHcan principles, in politics, but was 
in no sense obtrusive of his own personality, loving his home and family, 
and striving to prepare his children for good citizenship. He died Octo- 
ber 14, 1886. 

Mr. Wise was married, aljout the time he attained his majority, to 
Elizabeth Biack, who died March 27, 1886, and they were the parents 
of seven children. Edward, the first of these, began early to rove, and his 
whereabouts are now unknown to his relatives. Mary, wife if F. E. 
Joslin. resides in Watertown. Lois, Mrs. Frank E. Felton, lives in 
Chicago, Illinois. James B. is further mentioned hereinafter. Anastasia 
is the wife of Dempster Rockwood, whose history is given on another 
page. Josephine, Mrs. Edward B. Allen, resides in Elizabeth, New Jer- 
sey. William H. is in Watertown. 

James B. Wise was born December 27, 1858, in Branford, Con- 
necticut, and was' in his eleventh year when he accompanied his parents 
to Watertown in the spring of 1869. He was an intense and energetic 
boy, throwing all his strength into anything he undertook, and this 
characteristic has controlled .his whole career. He very early developed 
a wish to earn something for himself, and began his wage-earning as a 
newspaper carrier, subsecpiently acting as a newspaper -folder and, later, 
a newsboy. He finished the course of the grammar schools and was 
admitted to the high school of Watertown, but his wish to begin business 
lite led him to leave the high school to take a commercial college course. 
His first business venture was as owner of the right to sell fruits and 
newspapers on the trains running out of Watertown. He made a success 
of this venture from the start, and afterward purchased the same right 
on trains running west from Oswego, on the Rome, Watertown & Og- 
densburg Railroad. Being courteous and tactful, as well as energetic, 
he became a popular and well known salesman, and continued in the 
business until 1877, when he returned to Watertown and became a partner 
with his father in the manufacture of hardware specialties. After the 
death of the father, the son bought the interest of the other heirs and 
continued the enterprise as sole proprietor. In 1891 he came into pos- 
session, by purchase, of the factory building on Mill street, north of the 
river, which he has since occupied. Many articles of light hardware are 
produced, including some specialties that are well known to the trade 



160 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

and much in demand. He has been connected with several other indus- 
tries, to all of which his persistent and intelligent application has given 
impetus. He was president of the Singer Fire Alarm Company, and 
also of the Watertown Brass & Manufacturing Company, secretary and 
treasurer of the Ryther Manufacturing Company, and vice president and 
a director of the Union Carriage & Gear Company. 

Mr. Wise is deeply interested in the welfare and progress of his 
home town, and has contributed no small part to its development in every 
way. His public spirit has been untiring, and has been recognized by 
his fellow citizens. He was elected alderman for the second ward in 
1888. In 1891 he was the candidate on the Republican ticket for mayor, 
against W. F. Porter, a popular Democrat, and was defeated by six 
hundred majority. The following year he was again defeated by F. D. 
Roth by fifty-eight majority, and was nominated a third time by his 
party in 1893, but refused to make the race. Being urged to be a candi- 
date in 1894, he accepted and was elected, being re-elected in the three 
succeeding years. To this responsible office he brought the same energy 
and care for details which had made his private business a success. 
During his administration the handsome city hall was built, under his 
close and constant supervision, and finished, including all the furnishings, 
at the remarkably low cost of fifty-seven thousand dollars. The con- 
tractor who erected the building was a loser in the sum of nearly two 
thousand dollars, because Mayor Wise was ever vigilant and insisted on 
having the best of everything put into the building. It is a handsome 
and most substantial structure, likely to make proud and glad the tax- 
payers for many long years. Mr. Wise built and rebuilt all of the 
bridges of the city excepting Cowan creek bridge, and during his admin- 
istration most of the best streets of the city were constructed, under his 
ever watchful eye, and the first steam roller was put in operation on the 
roadways. That the people appreciated his disinterested labors, securing 
the city's most valuable permanent improvements at the minimum cost, 
is shown by his repeated re-election, and it is universally admitted that he 
could be easily elected mayor any time he would consent to be a candidate. 

Mr. Wise is considerably interested in athletics and outdoor sports, 
and feels the same pride in the supremacy of his home city in all contests 
that actuates him in regard to its material and moral progress. He has 
been liberal in the expenditure of his means, often carrying the bulk of 
the burden, in maintaining strong football teams, in order to advertise 
the city and gratify a taste for real sports in the field. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 161 

In the social life of the town Mr. Wise is as well known as in its 
business circles. He is a member of Corona Lodge No. 705, Independ- 
ent Order of Odd Fellows, and of the various Masonic bodies subordinate 
to Media Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of which he is a valued 
member. He accepts the faith of the Presbyterian church, but is not 
upon the roll of any religious body. He was married to Miss Hattie C, 
daughter of George and Sylvia A. Willard of Watertown. Two sons 
complete the family of Mr. and Mrs. Wise, namely : Charles Ralph 
and Earl Willard. 

TODD. This is one of the oldest names in America, and has been 
traced some generations in England, previous to the settlement of New 
England by the Puritans. 

(I) William Todd was born in Pontefract, Yorkshire, England, 
and married Isabel Rogerson, September 24, 1592. 

(II) William (2), son of William and Isabel Todd, was baptized 
June 29, 1593, in Pontefract, and married Katherine Brewster Ward. 
He was a miller, farmer and baker, and died in 161 7. 

(III) Christopher, son of William (2) and Katherine B. (Ward) 
Todd, was baptized January 12, 1617, in Pontefract, and married Grace 
Middlebrook. He was one of Rev. John Davenport's company, and 
came to New Haven, Connecticut, in 1639. He died there April 
23, 1686. 

(IV) Samuel, son of Christopher and Grace (Middlebrook) Todd, 
was baptized August 20, 1645, was made a freeman in 1670, and was 
a landowner in 1685, and died August, 1714. He married Mary Bradley. 

(V) Daniel, son of Samuel and Mary (Bradley) Todd, was born 
March 14, 1686-7, ^rid died July 29, 1724. His wife was Desire Tuttle. 

(VI) Daniel (2), son of Daniel (i) and Desire (Tuttle) Todd, 
was born March 5, 1725, and was made a freeman at Derby, Connecti- 
cut, m 1777. He married Sybil Carrington. 

(VII) Daniel (3), son of Daniel (2) and Sybil (Carrington) 
Todd, was born September 9, 1751. in Derby, and was made a freeman 
in 1777. He was married March 27, 1775, to Eunice Hitchcock. 

(VIII) Daniel {4), son of Daniel (3) and Eunice (Hitchcock) 
Todd, was born December 24, 1777, in Derby, and moved to Cornwall, 
thence to Milton, Connecticut, and in 1805, came to Whitesville, in the 
town of Rodman, this county, where he died March 8, 1867. He was 



162 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

married September i, 1801, to Betsey Peck, and they had three sons, 
Daniel, David and Enoch L. 

(IX) Enoch Lewis, son of Daniel U.) -"^"'l Betsey (Peck) Todd, 
was born December 14. 1S16, in Rodman, and died there January 8, 
1889. He was a successful farmer and respected citizen. He was 
married December 12, 1841, to Emmeline Jeannette Smith, daughter of 
Reuben and Pamela (Wright) Smith (see Smith), of Rodman. 

(X) Lewis E., son of Enoch L. and Emmeline J. (Smith) Todd, 
was born March 13, 1846, and now resides on the paternal farm in 
Rodman. He married Zerviah Buell, and their children are : Clara E., 
Clarence E., Homer and Ella M. 

BYRON B. TAGGART, one of the managers of the extensive 
mills of the Taggart Brothers Company, paper manufacturers of Water- 
town, X'ew York, began his business life with the advantages of a well 
known name and a hrmly estalilished business. Fortunately, along with 
the interests that it has fallen lo him to direct, have descended a share 
of the equalities of mind that in his father gave shape to the enterprise. 
His comprehensive grasp of affairs and keen judgment equip him admir- 
ably for the responsibilities of his position. 

The family has been known in America for a hundred and fifty 
years, the founder of this line having been Henrj-" Taggart, a Scotchman 
who came to New England from the Isle of Man. One of his descend- 
ants, Joseph Taggart, came as a pioneer to the Black river country from 
Rhode Island at about the beginning of the Nineteenth century. Joseph's 
son Henry, who became a prominent farmer of Le Ray, Jefiferson county, 
was the father of Byron Benjam.in Taggart, founder of the paper manu- 
facturing business in Watertown, known as the Taggart Brothers Com- 
pany. Henry Taggart married Julina Dighton, daughter of John Digh- 
ton. an early settler of Pamelia and the son of a soldier of Burgoyne's 
army, who became a citizen of the United States. 

Byron Benjamin Taggart was one of the eight children of Henry 
and Julina (Dighton) Taggart. He was born April 28, 1831, and 
lived until he was eighteen years old on his father's farm. He attended 
the district school as a child, and later taught during the winter. He 
was ambitious to gain a better education and to broaden his horizon, 
and studied for a year at the state normal school at Albany before spend- 
ing three years in the west. He returned to Watertown. where he staid 
until he entered militarv service during the second vear of the war. He 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 163 

organized Company K, of the Tenth New York Heavy Artillery, and 
was commissioned captain for his services. The company was stationed 
for a time in New York harbor, hut was soon called to the defenses at 
Washington. Ill health and pressure of business aflfairs at home im- 
pelled Captain Taggart to resign his position in the army November 23, 
1863. In 1865 he began dealing in paper flour-sacks. He bought a 
hand printing press and a c^uantity of manila sacks and established a 
business on Beebee's Island, when the difficulty of getting the manufac- 
tured article suggested the possibility of producing them himself. In 
1866 a company was organized to finance the enterprise, and under the 
management of Mr. Taggart the manufacture of manila paper was 
begun. It was the first business of the kind in that region, and after 
five years of successful operation William W. and Byron B. bought out 
the other members of the firm and the company became known as Tag- 
gart Brothers. In 1886 the firm was incorporated under the name of 
Taggart Brothers Company. Until his death Byron B. Taggart was 
the controlling spirit of the concern, as he had been the originator. It 
became under his management one of the most important and extensive 
manufacturing enterprises of northern New York. He was president 
of the company as well as president of the Taggart Brothers Paper Com- 
pany, which he established at Felt's Mills, and he was connected besides 
with many other financial concerns. He was one of the founders and 
for a time vice president of the Watertown Thermometer Company, an 
organizer and directer of the Watertown National Bank, a stockholder 
and director of the Watertown Spring Wagon Company, founder and 
president of the Watertown Savings Bank, president of the Alexandria 
Bay Steamboat Company, and of the Central Park Association of the 
Thousand Islands, an organizer and president of the Watertown Electric 
Street Railroad Company, and a stockholder and president of the Tag- 
gart-Moffett Land Company. In addition to all this he was a large 
owner of Hotel Eastman at Hot Springs, Arkansas, and had extensive 
land interests in the viciiiity of Watertown. He had the rare faculty of 
concentrating his mind absolutely upon any matter of the moment, and 
of dismissing it as absolutely when he had dealt with it to the best of his 
ability. It was in this way that he was able to keep his poise amid the 
responsibilities and infinite detail of his business, to preserve an interest 
m liberal culture, and to hold his mind open to the public needs. He was 
a Republican and a trusted counsellor of his party. He was elected 
mayor of Watertown in 1879, and re-elected in 1880. In 1878 Governor 



161 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Robinson appointed him a trustee of the Soldiers' Home at Bath, and 
he was continued in office under Governor Cornell. 

His wife was Frances L. Brown, daughter of Jabez and Lefa Brown 
of Watertown. He was married soon after his return from the west, 
May 28. 1856. Mr. Taggart died January 20, 1897. His three children 
were as follows : Grace, who married P. R. Dillion and is living at 
Cleveland, Ohio ; Mary L., who is the wife of Morris F. Tanner of Buf- 
falo ; and Byron B. 

Byron B., only son of Byron B. and Frances (Brow^n) Taggart, 
was born in Watertown March 5, 1874, and found his early instruction 
there in the public schools. He was graduated from Hamilton College 
and entered the business in 1896, a year previous to his father's death. 
The burden of his father's interests fell upon him. and he has proved 
himself fully equal to the responsibility. In connection with his cousin, 
Henry W. Taggart, he manages the mills of the Taggart Brothers Com- 
pany, and sustains other interests that his own initiative and enterprise 
have brought to him. Besides being vice president of the Taggart 
Brothers Company, he was one of the promoters and is vice president 
of the Alexandria Bay and Redwood Electric Railway Company, a 
director of the National Union Bank, a director of the Union Carriage 
and Gear Company, and a director and vice president of the St. Lawrence 
Park Association. He is also president of the Watertown Real Estate 
and Building Company, and secretary and treasurer of the Watertown 
Hotel Company; also interested largely in real estate and buildings in 
Buffalo and Watertown. He carries these responsibilities almost as 
easily as his father carried the multifarious interests of his life. Mr. 
Taggart is never too much occupied to give attention to public affairs, 
and he is strong in the advocacy of whatever course appears to him as 
right. In 1902 he married Josephine, daughter of Delmar E. Clapp of 
Auburn, New York. 

SYLVANUS POOL. The mention of the name of Sylvanus Pool 
recalls the memory of one who was, for many years, numbered among 
the honored citizens of Watertown. Mr. Pool came of New England 
ancestry. His father, who also bore the name of Sylvanus, was by 
trade a stonemason, and a man of estimable character. 

Sylvanus Pool, son of Sylvanus Pool, was born October 17, i8io, 
in Boston, Massachusetts, where he lived until reaching the age of 
twenty-fi\-e years, when he moved to Brownville, Jeft'erson countv, New 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. KiS 

York. There, for three years, he was engaged in business as a tanner 
and currier, and then, feeling equipped for more extended efforts in 
a wider field, went to Champion. In his new place of abode his talents 
as a business man found full scope in conducting, for fifteen years, an 
independent establishment. This was a period in his life fruitful, not 
only in financial profit, but in the acquisition of those stores of experience 
which served, in after years, as a guide, not for himself alone, but for 
many younger men, who, in beginning life for themselves, sought his 
counsel and encouragement. On leaving Champion he came to Water- 
town, where the remainder of his life was passed. Here he bought the 
"old Fairbanks tannery," where for a long time he conducted a flourish- 
ing business. In 1880 he disposed of the establishment on advantageous 
terms and withdrew from the field of active endeavor. Mr. Pool's busi- 
ness career, successful as it was in the main, was not one of uninter- 
rupted prosperity. He was the first vice president of the Merchants" 
Bank of Watertown, and, on the failure of this institution, suffered heavy 
financial loss. Reverses, however, failed to disturb the equanimity and 
cheerful courage with which lie met and by means of which he finally 
conquered them. The Universalist church, of which he was an attend- 
ant, regarded him, and with reason, as one of its stanch supporters. To 
this church, in which he was while living a zealous and devoted worker, 
he left at his death $10,000. 

Mr. Pool married Fanny, daughter of Eliakim Steele of Brown- 
ville. Two children were born to them, both of whom are deceased. 
The death of Mr. Pool, which occurred June 9, 1883, when he had 
reached the age of seventy-three years, was a cause of grief to the entire 
community. His family and friends were made to feel that they were 
not alone in 'their affliction, but that all who had ever in any way been 
associated with Mr. Pool united with them in a sense of personal bereave- 
ment on the removal of one who had lived among them as an honorable 
merchant, an upright citizen and a benevolent, kindhearted man. 

WILLIAM P. HEF-iRING. Among the citizens of Watertown, 
New York, is William P. Herring, president of the Jeft'erson Paper 
Company, the Jefferson Power Company, the Jefferson Board Mills 
Company, and director of the National Union Bank of Watertown. He 
was born at Rodman, Jefferson county. New York, October 22, 1844. 

\\'il1iam Herring, grandfather of William P. Herring, was born 
in W'iltshire, England, acquired an education in the schools of this coun- 



16« GEXEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

try, and for four years was a resident of Denmark, Lewis county. New 
York, removing to Champion village about 1820, where he was actively 
engaged in the brewing business in partnership with Lyman Holcomb. 
In 1826 Mr. Herring located in Gouverneur, St. Lawrence county, where 
he purchased a tract of land and devoted his attention to agricultural 
piu-suits for the remainder of his life. William Herring and his wife, 
Cynthia (Buck) Herring, a native of Argyle, Washington county. New 
York, were the parents of seventeen children, thirteen of whom attained 
years of manhood and womanhood, and by their earnest and conscien- 
tious lives left an impress for good upon the communities in which they 
resided. 

Hiram Herring, son of William Llerring and father of William P. 
Herring, was born in Denmark, Lewis county, New York, January 18, 
1817. He completed his common school education at the age of seven- 
teen years, after which he secured employment in the village of Oxbow, 
whence he removed to Watertown and served a four-years' apprentice- 
ship with Jason Fairbanks in the leather business. The following two 
years he was employed at his trade during the summer months in the 
city of Rochester, New York, and during the winter months he followed 
the vocation of teaching. L: 1841 he settled in Rodman, purchased a 
tannery of Joseph Brown, and during his forty years' connection with 
this enterprise won a reputation for energy, ability and uprightness of 
character. He was an earnest advocate of the principles of Democracy 
as expounded by Thomas Jefferson, was a brilliant conversationalist and 
a great reader of good literature. On October 23, 1843, Mr. Herring 
married Paulina Prosser of Clarkson. Monroe county, New York. Their 
children are : Ella, wife of Levi Washburn of Rodman ; Mary E., wife of 
B. L. Barney of Hanford, California; Jennie P., wife of Dr. Charles 
Douglas of Black River, New York : and William P. Herring. Hiram 
Herring died at his home in Rodman July 26, 1881, aged sixty-four 
years; his wife died August 9, 1884. 

\\'illiam Prosser Herring attended- the common schools of his native 
town, Rodman, and began his business career in the tannery owned and 
operated by his father. In 1871 he went to Gouverneur to take charge 
of a tannery purchased by his fath.er, the business Ijeing conducted under 
the firm name of William P. Herring & Company. In 1878. ha\-ing dis- 
posed of his interest in the Gouverneur tannery, ^V. P. Herring went 
west and engaged in raising, feeding and dealing in cattle. 

In 1878 he was employed by the Kansas City Live Stock Company 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 



16< 



and assisted in tlie establishment and development of stock yards in 
Kansas City. From that time until igoi he was connected with either 
the Atchison, Topeka &: Santa Fe, or Chicago. Milwaukee & St. Paul 
railroads as general live stock agent. 

In 1885 ^Ir. Herring became the owner of a large tract of land 
in the Red River valley of Minnesota and Dakota, and for twelve years 
was an extensive grower of wheat. 

Simultaneous with the above period, Mr. Herring was engaged in . 
the raising, feeding and shipping of cattle in Texas, Kansas, the Indian 
Territory and Iowa, and still retains his ranching interest in Kansas. 

In 1887 Mr. Herring became interested in paper making in Black 
River, having in that year established the plant now known as the Jeffer- 
son Paper Company, Black River, since which time he has built the 
plants of Herring and purchased and relniilt the St. Lawrence mill at 
Dexter. 

At the age of twenty years Mr. Herring enlisted as private in Com- 
pany G, One Hundred and Eighty-sixth Regiment, New York Volun- 
teers, serving with same until the close of the Civil war. rising to the 
rank of first lieutenant. At the close of the war he assisted Colonel " 
George W. Flower in organizing the Thirty-fifth Regiment of National 
Guards, raising a large company in the towns of Rodman and Worth, of 
which he was made captain. 

Mr. Herring was married October 17, 1866, to Imogene C. Adams, 
daughter of John and Electa Fox Adams of Watertown. Two children 
complete the family of Mr. and Mrs. Herring, namely : Pauline, wife 
of Colonel John W. Dillenbeck, United States Army; and Frederick W., 
treasurer of the various paper-making companies of which his father is 
the head. The latter resides with his wife, Frances E. (Thompson) 
Herring, at Watertown. 

ALANSON D. SEAVER. Prominent among the enterprising 
business men and public-spirited citizens of Jefferson county is Alanson 
D. Seaver of Watertown. He comes of New England ancestry who 
transmitted to him that genuine ability and sterling integrity of char- 
acter which have been such potent factors in his useful and honorable 
career.' His parents were natives of Brookline, Massachusetts, and Rut- 
land, Vermont, and among the early settlers of Watertown. The father 
was a son of Joseph Seaver. 

Alanson D. Seaver, son of William and Eliza (French) Seaver, was 



168 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

born January 29, 1845. i" \\'aterto\vn, where he received a common 
school education and was early employed at the machinist's trade. In 
1865 he entered C. B. Hoard's armory in Watertown and rapidly 
picked up a knowledge of metal-working. His application and apti- 
tude were such that he tiioroughly mastered the business in all its 
details, and became so accomplished a workman that he was able to 
secure a position as tool-maker with the Davis Sewing Machine Com- 
pany in 1868. After holding this position for seventeen years, with 
credit to himself and entire satisfaction to his employers, he engaged 
in the insurance business, becoming associated with Frank H. Munson 
under the firm name of Munson & Seaver. As city agents for the Agri- 
cultural Insurance Company the firm carried on a flourishing business, 
a fact due in no small measure to the industry and ability of Mr. Seaver, 
whose success in commercial life has been no less marked than were the 
favorable results which he secured while engaged in the calling of a 
machinist. This continued until the death of Mr. Munson. In 1901 Mr. 
C. F. Peck became his partner, and the business is now conducted under 
the style of Seaver & Peck. 

Notwithstanding the urgent and incessant demands to which Mr. 
Seaver as a business man is constantly subjected, he has never neglected 
the duties of a citizen, but has ever manifested an earnest and conscien- 
tious interest in everythmg pertaining to the welfare of the community 
in which he resides. He possesses the high esteem and full confidence 
of his fellow citizens, who in 1871 elected him to the office of city clerk. 
In 1884 he was called by the votes of his fellow citizens to fill the position 
of county treasurer, the l^est comment upon the manner in which he ad- 
ministered the office being found in the fact that in 1887 he was re-elected. 
Mr. Sea\-er is a member of Watertown Lodge No. 49, F. and A. M., 
in which he held the office of master three terms. He is also affiliated 
with Watertown Chapter and Commandery, and Media Temple, Nobles 
of the Mystic Shrine. He is an Episcopalian, and a Republican in poli- 
tics. He was married in December, 1868, to Miss Hattie E. La Mont, 
a native of Geneva. New- York, daughter of Charles F. and Irene La 
Mont of that town, of prominent families. 

CALVIN LITTLEFIELD of Ellisburg is one of many repre- 
sentatives of a noteworthy family of English origin, the American 
branch of which was founded by Edmund Littlefield, who was born in 
England aliout 1590. and in 1637 came to America, and subsequently 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 109 

settled in Exeter, New Hampshire. In 1641 he removed to Wells, 
Maine, where he built the first house, and also the first grist and saw 
mill erected in the place. He was a prosperous man of the times. He 

married Annis , and they were the parents of eight children. 

The death of Edmund Littlefield occurred in 1661. 

(H) Francis Littlefield, son of Edmund and Annis Littlefield, was 
born in 1614. was with his father at Exeter, and afterward went to 
Woburn, Massachusetts, whence he removed about 1646 to Dover, New 
Hampshire, and there represented his town in the legislature. In 1650 
he took up his abode m Wells, Maine. He was twice married and was 
the father of thirteen children. His first wife was Jane Hill, and his 

second Rebecca . He died in 1712 in Wells, Maine, at advanced 

age. 

(III) Edmund Littlefield, son of Francis and Rebecca Littlefield. 
was born in 1650 in Wells, Maine, and m 1680 received a grant of two 
hundred acres of land on the Kennebec river, and on this land built a 
saw mill. He married Elizabeth Mott, and they were the parents of 
thirteen children. His death occurred in 1718. 

(IV) Nathaniel Littlefield, second son of Edmund and Elizabeth 
(Mott) Littlefield, was born in 1691, in Braintree, Massachusetts, mar- 
ried Abigail Spear and was the father of nine children. 

(V) Edmund Littlefield, son of Nathaniel and Abigail (Spear) 
Littlefield, was born April 3, 1724. in Braintree, Massachusetts, and in 
1782 moved to Halifax, Vermont. He served in the French and Indian 
war, in Captain Ward's company. Colonel Williams' regiment, coming 
from Boston via Mohawk river. Wood creek, Oneida lake to Oswego by 
boat and participating in the battle near Frontenac, now Kingston, Can- 
ada. In 1775 he joined Captain William Brig's company. Colonel Read's 
regiment ; was in Bunker Hill battle with his three sons and two brothers, 
and later served in Craft's Artillery, and was discharged June i, 1783. 
He married. October 6, 1750, Mary Castle, and the following children. 
were born to them : Edmund ; Jedediah ; Josiah ; Asa : Mary ; Anna : 
Jesse, mentioned at length hereinafter; Elisha and Elizabeth. This 
soldier of the Revolution died in Halifax, Vermont. Edmund, Jesse 
and Josiah Littlefield, sons of Edmund and Mary (Castle) Littlefield. 
removed to Jefiferson county, bought lands at and near where Belleville 
now stands in 1805. 

Edmund Littlefield, Jr., was born in Massachusetts, February 4, 
1775, served in Captain Talbot's company in the Revolutionary war. 



170 GENEALOGICAL AXD FAMILY LIISTORV. 

After the close of the war he moved to Coleraine. Massachusetts, 
founded the Second Baptist churcli and was its pastor eighteen years. 
In 1805 he came to Elhsburg, New York, bought lots 56 and 58 and 
settled thereon. He was one of the founders of the Belleville Baptist 
church: also the pastor of the State Road Baptist church in Adams, 
serving until his death in 1806. 

(VI) Jesse Littlefield, son of Edmund and Mar)- (Castle) Ljttle- 
field, was born in 1761, and was a farmer in Vermont. His wife was 
Elinor Pennell. Elinor Pennell was a daughter of Captain John Pennell 
of Halifax, Vermont. He served in Colonel William Williams' regi- 
ment from January, 1776, to July, 1782, New York State Militia. Their 
children were: James, John, Jesse, Jr., Julitis. Daniel, Esther, Hannah 
and Elinor. 

(VII) John Littlefield, son of Jesse and Elinor (Pennell) Little- 
field, was born in 1794 in Halifax, Vermont, and in 1805 came to JeiYer- 
son county with his parents. He purchased a tract of land near where 
Belleville now stands, which he made his home for the remainder of his 
life. He was an active farmer and a soldier in the war of 18 12, being 
in the battle at Sackett's Harbor with his brother James. His brother, 
Jesse Littlefield, Jr., also served in the army and was in the battle of 
South Branch Sandy Creek in Ellisburg. John Littlefield took a promi- 
nent part in local afifairs, filling the offices of assessor and supervisor. 
In politics he was a \A'hig. He married Orrilla Barney, who was born 
in Guilford, Vermont, and belonged to one of the pioneer families of 
Jefferson county. Mr. and Mrs. Littlefield were the parents of three 
children: Calvin, born in 1823, mentioned hereinafter: Eunice, born in 
1825, died in 1877: Horace, born in 1827, went to California in 1849, 
and died in 1850. 

Edward Barney, son of General Benjamin Barney, a Revolutionary 
soldier, was born in Vermont and came to Ellisburg in the winter of 
1804 with an ox team and sled, the journey occjj.pying three weeks. 
Here he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land upon which he 
erected a log house. He married Mabel Brown, and they were the 
parents of a large family, all of whom settled in Ellisburg. Their son 
John was born in 1778, in Guilford, Vermont. In 1801 he married 
Cynthia Potter and they had four sons and five daughters: Hiram; 
David: Samuel G. : John: Orrilln, mentioned above as the wife of John 
Littlefield ; Julia : Laura : Harriet and Electa. Hiram was educated at 
Union Academy, Belleville, also at Union College. He was principal of 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 171 

Union Academy, Belleville, and Aurora Academy, Erie county, and of 
Hughs high school, Cincinnati, Ohio, and later was elected state super- 
intendent of the schools of Ohio and inaugurated the union school system 
throughout the state. 

(VIII) Calvin Littlefield, son of John and Orrilla (Barney) Lit- 
tlefield, was born September i, 1823, on a farm which is now his home. 
He received his primary education in the common schools, afterward 
attending Belleville Academy and Union College. Subsequently he be- 
came principal of Union Academy, also of Aurora Academy. After 
serving five years he became a resident of Belleville. 

In 1854, '55 and '57 he was a member of the state assembly. He 
is a member of the Masonic order. In early life his political affiliations 
were with the Whigs and he has been identified with the Republican 
party since its organization. 

In September, 1861, he enlisted in the Union army and in connection 
with Judge A. E. Cooley of Adams Centre, recruited Company K of the 
Ninety-fourth Volunteers. Of this company Mr. Littlefield was elected 
captain, and in March, 1862. was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He 
served in the Army of the Potomac and was present at the battles of 
Cedar Mountain, Rappahannock Station, Thoroughfare Gap, second Bull 
Run, Chantilly, South Mountain and Antietam, commanding the regi- 
ment in the three last named battles. On account of his disability he 
resigned in November, 1862. He rendered very material aid in recruit- 
ing the quota in the town of Ellisburg and of Jefiferson county, and 
through his services the county's quota was filled without resort to the 
draft. 

After his return to civil life Colonel Littlefield was for several years 
interested in St. Louis and San Francisco and Atlantic & Pacific rail- 
roads, holding the office of secretary and treasurer of each company. 

Colonel Littlefield was twice married. His first wife was Harriet 
L. Sprague, who was born April 20, 1824, and died June 21, 1878. On 
January 16, 1883, he married Laura Hungerford of Ellisburg, daughter 
of Philo and Caroline (Davis) Hungerford. He has been the father 
of five children, only one of whom is now living, namely, Rebecca May, 
a daughter by his first wife, who is the wife of Rolland Stewart, a real 
estate dealer of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and has two children. Clara 
Eunice and Harriet Maud. 

The above article is due largely to the earnest investigations and 
kind courtesy of Dr. George H. Littlefield of Glenfield, New York. 



172 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

SMITH. One branch of the Smith family of Rodman is descended 
from (I) John Smith, who appeared very early in Sudbury, Massachu- 
setts. His wife's name was Sarah Hunt, daughter of Robert and Su- 
sannah Hunt. They had four sons. 

(H) Thomas, son of John and Sarah (Hunt) Smith, was bom 
July 29, 1658, in Sudbury, and married Abigail Rice. He made his will 
November 30, 1717. That he could write is evidenced by his signature 
on this document, which was probated May 11, 1718. 

(HI) Thomas (2), son of Thomas (i) and Abigail (Rice) 
Smith, was born December 3, 1679, in Sudbury. His wife's Christian 
name was Elizabeth. He made his will March 25, 1747. 

(IV) Henry, youngest child of Thomas (2) and Elizabeth Smith, 
was born April 24, 1724, in Sudbury, and married Lucretia, daughter of 
Hezekiah Moore. Mr. Smith served as a private on the alarm from 
Lexington, April 19, 1775, being out three days, in Captain Aaron 
Haynes' Company, from Sudbury to Cambridge. He was then fifty-one 
years of age, and there were several older men in the company. He 
was one of the leading and best established men in the town. He had 
nine children. 

(V) Ezra, son of Henry and Lucretia (Moore) Smith, was born 
January 13, 1754, and was married January 12, 1779, to Phebe Walcott, 
daughter of Jesse and Rebecca (Conant) Walcott. Ezra Smith served 
at several different periods in the Revolution. Soon after that struggle, 
he moved to Nelson, New Hampshire, where the house he built still 
stands. About 1802 he brought his family to Rodman, this county, 
where many of his descendants now live. He died February 27, 1834. 

(VI) Reuben, eldest son of Ezra and Phebe (Walcott) Smith, was 
bom August 22, 1782, in Nelson, New Hampshire, and spent his life 
in Rodman, from the time of his majority. He married Pamela, daugh- 
ter of Jesse Wright, also a very early settler of Rodman, from Nelson, 
New Hampshire, and a Revolutionary veteran. They had eleven chil- 
dren. 

KNOWLTON. The traditions of the Knowlton family date back 
to the days of William the Conqueror. At that time there were two 
brothers who won their spurs during the invasion of Wales. One of 
these resided on a hill and the other on a knoll, and when William the 
Conqueror invested them with the honors and insignia of knighthood he 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 173 

dubbed one Hillton and the other Knowlton. All along the pages of 
English history the name of Knowlton occupies an honored place. 

(I) The American branch traces descent from Richard Knowlton, 
a native of Kent, England. He was born in 1553, married in 1577 
Elizabeth Cantize. 

(II) William Knowlton, the youngest son of Richard and Eliza- 
beth Knowlton, born in 1584, married Anne Elizabeth Smith, and had 
six children. 

(III) William Knowlton, the fourth son of William (i), adopted 
a seafaring life and was captain and part owner of an ocean vessel. He 
sailed for America in 1632, and died off the coast of Nova Scotia. His 
body was taken ashore for burial, and his widow, after disposing of her 
interest in the ship, proceeded to Hingham, Massachusetts, where it is 
said she married a second time. 

(IV) William Knowlton, son of William (2), born in 1615, was 
a bricklayer and a resident of Ipswich, Massachusetts. He married 
Elizabeth (surname unknown), and died in 1658. He had seven children. 

(V) William Knowlton, the third son of William (3), born in 

1642, married Susannah . He was a tailor, and was fined for 

having a pack of playing cards in his house. He was the father of three 
children. 

(VI) Thomas Knowlton, eldest son of William (4), born in 1667, 
was twice married. Eight children were the result of these two unions, 
of whom Ezekial, the youngest, was born in 1707. His mother, Mar- 
jery Goodhue, was the granddaughter of the Hon. William Goodhue, 
who represented the colonial assembly for seven years, and who, for 
resenting illegal taxation was imprisoned by Governor Andras. 

(VII) Ezekial Knowlton lived at Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, 
where he was a selectman for many years. He married Susannah Mor- 
gan, and died in 1774, survived by nine children. 

(VIII) Luke Knowlton, the fifth child and second son of Ezekial 
Knowlton, was born at Shrewsbury in 1738. In 1760 he married Sarah 
Holland, and thirteen years later removed to Newfane, Vermont. He 
was a man prominent in the affairs of life. At the age of twenty-one he 
entered in the regular service of the continental army and served during 
the French and Indian war, in 1759, at Crown Point, Fort Ticonderoga 
and at other points. His journal, kept during his military career, is still 
in existence. After his removal to Vermont he represented the town of 
Newfane in the state legislature for seven terms, was a member of the 



174 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

old council from 1787 to 1793., judge of the \\'indham county court and 
judge of the .sui:)reme court in 1786. Judge Knowlton's declining days 
were darkened with suspicions regarding his loyalty to the state of 
Vermont. He died December 12. 1810, survived \)\ six children. 

(IX) Calvin Knowlton. the oldest son of Judge Luke Knowlton, 
\\as born in Newfane January J2. 1761. He graduated from Dart- 
mouth College in 1788. studied law with his father and achieved eminent 
success at his profession. He died January 20. 1800. at Newfane. But 
two children were born from his union with Sophia Willard, George 
Willard Knowlton, the oldest, first seeing the light of day on January 
19, 1795, at Newfane. 

( X ) Ceorge Willard Knowlton, whose long, helpful and wonder- 
fully acti\e life came to an unexpected end on October 18, 1886, was a 
potent and influential factor in the improvement of the literature, morals 
and material growth of the Black River country, a land unique, set apart 
by itself, of peculiar richness in natural resources, and the birthplace of 
many great and good men. He stood for many years as the almost 
solitary link that bound the present to that far-away time when the 
pioneers of this new land boldly ventured all and dared all to found a 
second New England — a land of churches, of schoolhouses, and of a 
profound respect for law. He was a man of rare characteristics and 
possessed a strong magnetic personality. He was calm amid the fiercest 
turmoils, and only deeply aroused when some great moral question affect- 
ing the public weal, or patriotism, called forth words of condemnation 
and wrath. 

George W . Knowlton lost his father when he was but five years old, 
antl he was early left to his own resources, acquiring" but a limited educa- 
tion. In 181 1, when only sixteen years of age, he secured employment 
in the distillery at Warehouse Point, Connecticut, operated by General 
Jenks, and remained there during the period of the war of 1812-13. 
This was before the days of temperance societies, and he afterward often 
expressed himself as being very thankful that he did not grow up a 
drunkard, fn 1816, ujjon attaining" his majority, he began business 
for himself m a general store at Brattleboro, Vermont, in which he was 
fairl_\- successful. In 1824 Mr. Knowlton entered into partnership with 
Clarke Rice, a young printer, in the purchase of some property in \\"ater- 
town, Jefferson county, Xew ^'ork, which Messrs. Holbrook and Fes- 
senden of Brattleboro. Vermont, uncles of Mr. Knowlton, had taken to 
secure a debt, Mr. Rice came to Watertown at once, and Mr. Knowl- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 175 

ton in the following year, 1825. Their purchase consisted of a book 
store, bindery, printing ofifice and two paper mills. The latter were 
operated by hand, and produced about one hundred and twenty-five 
pounds of paper each per day. Finding it difficult to dispose of any 
considerable (|uantit}- of paper, they turned the product of their plant 
into school ]:ooks, blank books and even miscellaneous books for public 
school libraries, and in a short space of time the name of Knowlton & 
Rice became familiar to every school boy in several neighboring counties. 
In 1854 jNlr. Knuvvlton retired from active business pursuits, and as 
long as his strength would permit he devoted considerable time to gar- 
dening, of which occupation he was particularly fond. 

Mr. Knowlton was one of the original members of the Second 
Presbyterian, now Stone Street church, and was elected an elder of that 
church in 1832, "which office he held until his death. During his early 
life he was an abolitionist and later a Republican, for the logic of fate 
would not permit liim to lie anything else. This logic also made him 
an ardent adnnrer of the illustrious Abraham Lincoln, who was not per- 
mitted, as Mr. Knowlton was. to witness the full fruitiun of all his 
hopes in a united, great nationality. He performed every duty devolv- 
ing upon him with the strictest fidelity, was a patriotic and public-spir- 
ited citizen, and he was always ready and willing to do his full share 
toward every public improvement. 

In August. 1830. Mr. Knowlton married Elizabeth Carroll, who 
bore him five children : Elizabeth, deceased ; Sophia, deceased wife of 
Charles Perkins; Maria, deceased wife of John H. Rice: John C. and 
George W. Knowlton. who survive their parents. 

(XI) John Calvin Knowlton, elder son of George \\\ and Eliza- 
beth Knowlton, was born February 22. 1837, in \\'atertown, which city 
has been his home, and to whose development he has contributed no 
mean part, both in moral and material things. He attended the public 
schools of his native city and Cortland Academy, at Homer, New York, 
which latter institution he left at the age of seventeen years, to begin 
his business career. He acted for some time as clerk in the late Wooster 
Sherman's bank and. subsequently, in what is now the National Union 
Bank. In 1877 '""-' became a director of the Jefferson County National 
Bank, and soon after was n-iade \-ice-president, becoming president and 
manager in 1897. resigning m Januarv. 1904, and was again made vice- 
president. In the latter mo\-ement. he exchanged places with Mr. George 
B. Massey. who had been vice-i)resident, and took the presidencv. as Mr. 



176 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

KnoAvlton's successor. j\lr. Knowlton is also a director of the Thousand 
Island Bank, of Alexandria Bay. 

In 1861 Mr. Knowlton, in association with his brother, took up 
the operation of the paper mill formerly operated by their father. The 
business has since been conducted under the name of Knowlton Brothers, 
which became a corporate title in 1892. About 1888 Mr. J. C. Knowlton 
resigned from active management of the mill, though he still has an 
interest in it. Its capacity has been increased until it now represents 
twenty times the product put forth when the senior Knowlton operated 
it, a fact creditable to the executive ability, energy and business probity 
of its owners. 

While active in promoting business interests, Mr. Knowlton has 
borne the part of a good citizen, in developing along right lines the social 
and political life of his native city. He is a member of the First Presby- 
terian church, in which he has been long an elder. While he subscribes 
to the general principles enunciated by the Republican organization, he 
is not a strict partisan, and does not always support the entire ticket put 
up by the party leaders. He is recognized, however, by all shades of 
political opinion as an earnest well-wisher toward every movement in- 
tended to conserve the general welfare. He became a member of the 
board of water commissioners of the city in 1872, and has since continued 
in that capacity, having been several years president of the board. He 
was the representative of the second ward on the board of supervisors 
a considerable period, and was chairman of the board one term. He 
was long chairman of the Bureau of Charities, from which he retired 
one year ago, and is president of the Societies for Prevention of Cruelty 
to Children and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. As chairman of 
the administration committee of the Flower Memorial Library, he will 
have further opportunity to promote the best interests of the community, 
and find congenial occupation for his time. His interest in education, and 
its recogTiition by his contemporaries, is testified by the fact that he 
served many years as school commissioner. 

Mr. Knowlton was married December 3, 1863, to Miss Susan M. 
Fiske, daughter of the late Isaac H. Fiske (see Fiske). 

A genial and affable gentleman, a true representative of the long 
line of worthy New England ancestry, Mr. Knowlton enjoys the friend- 
ship of his fellow citizens and, with the consciousness of duty well done, 
his years are being passed in easy contentment, peace and continued well- 
doing. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 177 

(XI) George Willard Knowlton, a prominent man of affairs of 
Watertown, son of George Willard and Elizabeth (Carroll) Knowlton, 
was bom in 1S41, in High street, Watertown, and received his education 
in the local schools. 

In 1856, at the age of fifteen, he went to learn the business of 
paper manufacturing in the mill of Chamberlin, Farwell & Company, and, 
during the time spent there, acquired a thorough knowledge of the 
process in all its branches. In the course of time the firm failed, and 
Mr. Knowlton, in conjunction with his brother, John C. Knowlton, pur- 
chased the mill. The latter had, from boyhood, been connected with a 
bank, and was prepared to advance $1,200 toward the establishment of 
a business. The brothers entered into partnership, and their father 
endorsed their note for $5,000. The enterprise was highly successful, 
and the partnership remained undissolved until 1888. Long before this, 
Mr. Knowlton's remarkable executive talents and undisputed integrity 
of character had earned for him a high position in business circles, and 
when, in 1892, the business was incorporated, he was made president, 
a position which he still holds. His son, George Seymour Knowlton, 
is secretary and treasurer of the company, which still bears the title of 
Knowlton Brothers. The success of the business and the deservedly high 
reputation enjoyed by the owners are due, in large measure to the sagacity 
and administrative talents of the president, aided and enforced by the 
ability and ctose application to business of the other officials. When 
the Ontario Paper Company was organized Mr. Knowlton accepted the 
position of president, but this company, in 1898, dissolved, disposing of 
its stock to the International Paper Company. Since 1900 he has held 
the position of president of the St. Regis Paper Company. To his labors 
as a business man Mr. Knowlton adds those of a financier, filling the 
office of president of the Watertown National Bank, and is president of 
the American Paper and Pulp Association ol the United States. The 
temperamental conditions and powers of mind which have enabled Mr. 
Knowlton to direct the affairs of large organizations and to conduct diffi- 
cult and complicated transactions, are combined with a benevolence of 
spirit which prompts him to do all in his power to aid and uplift the 
needy and struggling, wherever they may be found. This disposition 
finds expression in individual acts of philanthropy, and in his able admin- 
istration of the office of treasurer of the Jefferson County Orphan Asy- 
lum. He is an active member and an elder of the First Presbyterian 
church. As a citizen he is prompt and active in the discharge of all 



178 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

his political obligations, takes a Jveen interest in the cause of reform, 
and is ever an advocate of wisely directed progress. In the sphere of 
politics he is identified with the Republican party, supporting, by his influ- 
ence and vote, the men and measures which it upholds, and the principles 
emlxidied in its platforms. 

Mr. Knowlton married Frances G., daughter of John Clarke, in 
1862 and two children were born to them, George Seymour and Elizabeth 
Frances (Mrs. Geo. V. S. Camp). In 1868 Mr. Knowlton and his chil- 
dren were deprived by death of the wife and mother, whose loss was 
also keenly felt by a large circle of friends. Mr. Knowlton. in 1870, 
married the lady who is now the presiding genius of liis home, — Ger- 
trude S.. daughter of Adrial Ely. By this second marriage there are 
three children, Theodore Ely, Carroll Foster and Gertrude \\'illard. 
The first of these is a civil engineer, and has done much in railroad con- 
struction in the United States and Canada. 

BENJAMIN F. HARRINGTON. Benjamin Franklin Harring- 
ton, a progressive and practical agriculturist of Rodman, traces his ances- 
try to two brothers by the name of Harrington, who were arrivals in 
America soon after the coming of the famous Mayflower. Nathaniel 
Harrington, great-grandfather of Benjamin F. Harrington, was born 
May 15, 1726, and his wife, Mary Harrington, born October 17, 1729, 
bore him the following-named children : Waity, born September 6, 1749 ; 
Caleb, March 7, 1751 ; John, April 21, 1853; and Nathajiiel, Jr., June 23, 
1757. Caleb Harrington, eldest son and second child of Nathaniel Har- 
rington, born March 7. 1751, moved from Connecticut or Rhode Island 
to Clarendon, Vermont. He married Sally Perry, who died July 11, 
1827, and their children were: Rhoda, born December i, 1781; Cyril, 
June I, 1783: Nathaniel, March 14, 1785: Azuba, Octc»ber 20, 1788; 
Polly, December 30, 1790; and Caleb. Jr., May 3, 1801. There is a 
monument erected to the memory of Judge Tbeophilus Harrington at 
Clarendon, Vermont : he is one of the early ancestors of this family. 

Nathaniel Harrington, father of Benjamin F. Harrington, was born 
in Clarendon. Vermont, March 14, 1785. During the early years of 
the nineteenth centur)-. he penetrated into the wilds of Jefferson coun- 
ty. New York, in quest of game, and was engaged for several years in 
hunting and fishing, and during this time he selected a spot for his future 
home in the present town of Rodman. In 1806, he located on the land, 
which is still in the possession of the family, then consisting of one hun- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 179 

dred acres, to which he afterward added until his possessions amounted 
to about two hundred and se\enty acres. He cleared the farm, which 
was then in a state of complete wilderness, and during- all this period 
experienced the pri\-ations incident to a pioneer life. He made his way 
from Rome to this section of the state by means of marked trees, and 
for several years was about the only settler. He was successful in his 
operations; was recognized as a man of means in his day, and was always 
a firm champion of the rights of the people. He served several years 
as county commissioner, fulfilling his duties with promptness and efiici- 
ency. In early manhood he cast his vote with the Democratic party, but 
later transferred his allegiance to the opposing faction, the Republican 
party. He served in the war of 1812, participated at the battle of Sack- 
etts Harbor, and while he was preparing for his service his wife was 
moulding bullets ; he was one of the pensioners of that Vv'ar. For over 
thirty years he was an active member and a. liberal contributor to the 
State Road Baptist church, of Adams. 

Nathaniel Harrington married Diana Edmonds, July 4, 1808. She 
was born in 1789, a daughter of Eliphalet Edmonds, a native of Ver- 
mont, whence he migrated tO' the vicinity of Boonville, New York, later 
coming to Jefferson county, where he served as judge of the county for 
many years. Nine children were the issue of this marriage, eight of 
whom attained years of maturity, namely: Sally, lx>rn in 1809, became 
the wife of Howard Beard, a cooper of Rodman, later a merchant, and 
for several years a justice of the peace. Betsy, born October 24, 1810, 
became the wife of Daniel Fox, second, a carpenter of Adams Center. 
Eri, born April i, 1813, a resident of Adams, New York, having attained 
the advanced age of ninety-one years. Electa, born April 23, 18 15, be- 
came the wife of Volney Ayres, a farmer of Adams. Riley, born Sep- 
tember 27, 1820, a farmer, died December 30, 1862. Nathaniel, born 
August 5, 1822, died at the age of twenty-twO' years. Harry, born Sep- 
tember 16, 1824, a farmer of Rodman, and Benjamin F., mentioned here- 
inafter. The father of these children died June 4. 1890; he survived 
his wife many years, her death occurring June 4, 1854. 

Benjamin F. Harrington was born on the farm in Rodman, where 
he now resides, May 18, 1827. He obtained a common school education, 
and his active career has been devoted to farming, which has proved a 
lucrative means of livelihood. For several years he taught music, being 
thoroughly qualified for that vocation, as he is a fine musician and culti- 
vated singer, the flute being his particular instrument for pleasure. He 



180 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

has led the choir of the Adams First Baptist church for the long period 
of forty years. He is a most estimable citizen, honored and esteemed 
for his sterling worth and honorable character. 

Mr. Harrington married, January 22, 1852, Jennette A. Sweet, born 
June I, 1828, daughter of Ira and Anna (Green) Sweet, whose ances- 
tors were among the pioneer settlers of this county. Her grandfather, 
Cliarles Green, was one of the first settlers of the Green settlement, after 
living in Pinckney, New York, as a pioneer. Two children were born to 
Benjamin F. Harrington and wife, namely: Ellano, born January 15, 
1858. a farmer of the town of Adams: Charles E., born April 2, 1861, 
a merchant in Amsterdam, New York, manager of a five and ten cent 
store of the Woolworth syndicate. 

EDWIN BILLIN. Edwin Dillin, a prosperous agriculturist of 
the town of Rodman, was born at Plcssis, in Alexandria, Jefferson county, 
New York. August 23, 1847, a son of Lodiwick and Julia Ann (Suits) 
Dillin. and grandson of William and Matilda (Hawkins) Dillin. 

William Dillin was born May 27, 1770, probably in the state of 
Connecticut. He is supposed to have resided in the vicinity of Utica, 
New York, whence he removed in 1800 to Brownville, bringing his family 
thither the following year. His first settlenient was on the site of the 
present \illage of Brownville. He worked at the trade of carpenter, and 
in association with his brother-in-law, Edward Hawkins, built the first 
sawmill there for Major Brown. Subsequently he purchased and cleared 
a farm located one mile north of the village, which proved a most profit- 
able in\'estment. He was a member of the militia during the war of 181 2, 
and assisted m burying the dead after the battle of Sacketts Harbor. 
There is a tradition in the family that his father, William Dillin, and 
Ned Hawkins, father of his wife, participated in the battle of Bunker 
Hill, where William Dillin, senior, lost his life. William Dillin and 
Ned Hawkins cut the first road from Watertown to Brownville. Mrs. 
William Dillin and a daughter, Cynthia, were precipitated into the water 
from a boat while crossing to Brownville, and narrowly escaped drown- 
ing. At first they were supposed to be dead, but finally were resusci- 
tated. 

Lodiwick Dillin was born in Brownville, New York, August 29, 
18 1 3. His educational advantages were very limited, and at an early 
age he began clearing land, later becoming the owner of a farm in Alex- 
andria, which is now owned by one of his sons, James Dillin. He was 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 181 

prosperous in all his undertakings, and therefore was enabled to accu- 
mulate a comfortable competence. He was a man of positive convictions, 
exerted a powerful influence for good in the community, and was one 
of the organizers of the Baptist church of Redwood, in which he served 
as deacon for many years, and was also the principal contributor in the 
building of the edifice. During the last twenty years of his life, lioth 
he and his wife resided in the home of their son, Edwin Dillin. and 
their church membership was transferred to the Baptist church of Adams 
Centre. By his marriage to Julia Ann Suits, who was born October 
i6, 1818, in Harrisburg, Lewis county. New York, a daughter of Adam 
and Catherine Suits, the following named children were born : Nancy, 
who became the wife of John Gray, of Clayton : Louise, who became the 
wife of William Taylor, of Lawrence, Michigan, where her death 
occurred March 22, 1887; Cordelia, who became the wife of Casper 
Ecker, of Plessis, New York: James, a farmer, residing at Alexandria 
Bay, New York; Edwin, mentioned hereinafter; Sarah, who became the 
v.-ife of Edward Maxom, of Adams, New York, a farmer ; Matilda, who 
became the wife of Orley Burdick, a farmer, residing at Greenwich, 
Washington county. New York. Lodiwick Dillin died as aforesaid at the 
home of his son, Edwin Dillin, September 2, 1903; his wife survived 
him a few months, passing away January 14, 1904. 

Edwin Dillin was reai-ed on his father's farm in Alexandria Bay, 
obtained a practical education in the common schools of the neighbor- 
hood, and for several winters thereafter served in the capacity of teacher. 
In 1865 he purchased his present farm in Rodman, New York, which 
consists of one hundred and eight acres of well cultivated land, the 
products of which, being of excellent quality, find a ready sale in the 
nearby markets. He is one of the three stockholders of the cheese fac- 
tory located near the northwest corner of the town of Rodman, and is 
also treasurer of the same. For a period of almost twelve years he served 
as the first and only postmaster at Dillin, the postofifice being in his 
home, but now the free delivery system is in use in that section of the 
county. He is a member and deacon of the Baptist church at Adams 
Centre, contributing liberally of his time and money to its support. He 
is also an active member of the Patrons of Husbandry, and active in 
local affairs, having served nine years as assessor. A Republican in 
politics, he is looked upon as an upright and honorable man. and is much 
respected by the entire community. 

On September 16, 1870, Mr. Dillin married May Harrington, of 



182 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Adams. Xew York, and one child was born to them September i6, 1871, 
Florence, now the wife of William W. Mantel, a farmer, residing in 
Rodman, and they are the parents of four children, as follows : Harry, 
Laura, Dorothy and Florence. Mrs. Dilliii died November 20, 1876. 
Mr. Dillin chose for his second wife Eliza Van Pelt, of Champion, New 
York, born October 13, 1856, daughter of Andrew and Mary (Graves) 
Van Pelt, of West Carthage, New' York, the former named being a 
cooper and manufacturer of butter tubs. The ceremony was performed 
February 23, 1878. Their children are: John Raymond, born August 
7, 1882. is engaged on the farm with his father, and is graduate of a 
short course in agriculture at Cornell University; Ethel Louise, bom 
December 29, 1884. now a member of the Training Class of Teachers 
at Antwerp high school; and Ruth Mildred, born August i, 1894. 

FRANKLIN ALLEN HINDS, of Watertown, New York, is dis- 
tinguished in Jefferson and adjoining counties of northern New York 
as a civil engineer. He is possessed of business as well as professional 
ability, and has been concerned in many financial enterprises in Water- 
town, as well as in the construction of railroads and water-works, and 
in laying out parks and estates throughout that region. 

He is of English descent, the founder of the family in America, 
James Hinds, having come to New England in 1635. His son John, 
born in 1659, married Mary Butler in 1681, and lived in Lancaster, Mas- 
sachusetts, where their son John was born in 1683. John married Han- 
nah (Whitaker) Coriis. of Haverhill, Massachusetts, and was the father 
of thirteen children, of whom Coriis, who lived in Barre, Massachusetts, 
and operated a mill on the Ware river, married Janet McMaster, Sep- 
tember 6, 1742. He died in 1821. at the age, it is said, of 105. Of his 
nine children, Coriis, born in 1748 and who was a soldier in the Revo- 
lutionary war, married Susanna Henry, daughter of an Englishman 
who died on a French prison ship, having been captured during the 
French war at Oswego, New York. Coriis and Susanna (Henry) Hinds 
w-ere the parents of eight children, of whom two, Coriis and Thomas, 
were pioneers in the Black river country. They married sisters, the 
daughters of David Bent, of Mt. Holly, Vermont, Polly being the wife 
of Coriis. He was one of the early settlers of Jefferson county, and the 
first supervisoi- of Watertown on its organization as a township. 

'Hiomas Hinds, born in 1780. married Phoelje Bent and opened a 
niercanlile business in Mt. Holly. In the autumn of 1809. however, he, 




View in Watertown Park 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 185 

with his family, followed his hrother Corlis into northern New York. 
The way lay through the valleys of the Mohawk and Black rivers, and 
the journey was a most difficult one. Rivers were to be forded, and 
stretches of forest passed through. In crossing the West Canada creek 
the wagon with its occupants and load of household goods was swept 
down stream and barely rescued. They stopped at Denmark, Lewis 
county, where they lived for two or three years, afterward moving to 
Champion, Jefferson county. Here the family settled on a farm between 
Tylerville and Copenhagen. Thomas Hinds was a soldier in the war 
of 1812, and took part in the battle of Sackett's Harbor. He had twelve 
children, of whom Earl Bent became the father of Franklin A. Hinds. 

Earl Bent, son of Thomas and Phoebe (Bent) Hinds, was born in 
Denmark, New York, October 25, 181 1. He was a farmer, and lived 
in the town of Watcrtown on what is known as Dry Hill. In 1845 the 
family moved to Pamelia. Earl B. Hinds married Almira Allen, whose 
Scotch blood had been modified by several generations of residence in 
New England. Barnabas Allen came from Scotland to Gloucester, Mas- 
sachusetts, early in the eighteenth century, and his son Barnabas was 
born in Seekonk, Rhode Island, about 1740. The second Barnabas had 
a son, Benjamin, who lived in Cheshire, Massachusetts, and was a major 
in the Revolutionary war. His son Reuben was the father of Almira. 
who became the wife of Earl Bent Hinds. The two children of this 
marriage were Franklin Allen and Oscar Earl Hinds. 

Franklin Allen Hinds is the eldest son, and was born November 17, 
1843. He grew up on his father's farm, and received the elementary 
education of the public schools. His training as an engineer was begun in 
practical work in Jefferson county, and at twenty-one he went to Port- 
land, Oregon, where he studied under the county and city surveyors for 
two years. He had a year of technical training in the engineering de- 
partment of Yale College, and then spent a year working under an 
engineer in New York city, who was a specialist in landscape and drain- 
age work. Returning to Jefferson county, Mr. Hinds was engaged in 
the early surveys of the Black River & St. Lawrence Railroad (now the 
Carthage and Adirondack). After the preliminary surveys of this road 
were completed, he was made chief engineer of the Carthage, Water- 
town and Sacketts Harbor Railraad, holding that position until the line 
was finished. Later he laid out and mapped, as a landscape architect, 
many of the famous parks in the islands of the St. Lawrence, Thousand 
Island Park, Westminster Park. Round Island Park, and Central Park 



186 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

hcmg among the best known. .\s an engineer, he superintended the con- 
struction of the Kingston & Pembroke Railway in Canada, and following 
that he was for two years in charge of the surveys of the New York 
and Boston Inland Railway. He was city engineer of Watertown 
for several terms, and made the survey for the city boundary when it 
was first incorporated. He has also been engaged in the construc- 
tion of water works for municipal supply in various localities. He 
formed a partnership under the firm name of Hinds, MofTett & Com- 
pany, which carried on that line of business for a number of years, Mr. 
Hinds selling out his interest to his partners in 1885. At this time he 
was concerned in the establishment of the Ontario Paper Mills near 
Brownville. of which company he is now a director. In 1S89 he formed 
a partnership with E. A. Bond for general engineering and waterworks 
construction. The firm put in water works in the villages of Antwerp, 
Theresa, Philadelphia, West Carthage and Cape Vincent, in Jefferson 
county, as well as in several Canadian towns. The partnership was 
dissolved in 1896, and since that time Mr. Hinds has been engaged in 
general hydraulic and mechanical engineering, his work for the most 
part being in the Black river valley. The sun'eys for Watertown Park 
were made under his direction, from which the design was drawn by 
Olmsted Brothers, landscape artists, of Brookline, Massachusetts, and 
the work of development was carried out by Mr. Hinds. His work has 
favored the development of a taste for natural science, and he has given 
much study to local geological formations, and has published the results 
of his observations. Throughout his business life he has been an in- 
spiriting example to the younger men who have come under his employ, 
through his kindly interest in their welfare and his own well-regulated 
life. He has preserved the simple tastes and temperate habits of his early 
life, and for more than twenty-five years he has lived on a suburban farm 
alK)Ut one and one-half miles from the business center of Watertown. 
He has been a member of the board of water commissioners of Water- 
town since 1880, and for the past ten years has been vice-president of 
the l)oard. He has always given his support to any movement for the 
business advancement or improvement of the city. He is identified 
with Trinity church, and has been one of the vestrymen since 1887. 

Mr. Hinds was married December 25, 1867, to Mary R. Thomson 
of Watertown, formerly of Houseville, Lewis county. Mrs. Hinds' moth- 
er was of the sixth generation in descent from William Peabody of 
Plymouth. Massachusetts, whose wife was Elizabeth, daughter of John 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 187 

Aklen and Priscilla Mullins of Mayflower fame. George Peabody, the 
philanthropist, was of the same descent. Mrs. Hinds' parents were Wil- 
liam and Mary (Peabody) Thomson. One son, Earl William, born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Hinds October 22, 1870, died June 3, 1872. 

WILLIAM H. MOORE, a prominent and influential business man 
of Watertown, New York, also president of the Watertown Savings, 
Loan and Building Association, was born in Saratoga Springs, New 
York, August 26, 1841, a son of Hiram and Mary (Selleck) Moore. 

Hiram Moore, his father, was a native of Stafford, Vermont, and a 
member of a family which was actively and prominently identified with 
religious work, his brother, John Moore, and also his nephew, John 
Harvey Moore, being prominent ministers of the Universalist denomina- 
tion. During his entire business career Hiram Moore devoted his atten- 
tion to railroading, and was in charge of the first engine which made the 
run north from Saratoga, New York. Later he removed to Watertown 
and for many years filled the position of superintendent of repairs on the 
Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad. He was an unpright and 
honorable man, a public-spirited citizen, and a consistent member of 
the Methodist Episcopal church. Hiram Moore and his wife, daughter 
of James Selleck of Schenectady, New York, were the parents of five 
children, one of whom, Elisha M., occupied the position of general freight 
agent of the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad for many years. 
Two children died in infancy. Melissa Selleck, a daughter, now resides 
in Watertown. Hiram Moore died in 1874, and his wife passed away 
August 29, 1898. 

William Harvey Moore acquired a common school education, which 
thoroughly qualified him for a life of usefulness and activity. At the 
age of fifteen years he began his business career by taking employment 
in a dry goods and notion store, operated by Candee & Winslow, in the 
town of Watertown, and by his industry and close application to busi- 
ness soon won the confidence and esteem of his employer. In 1865 he 
was admitted into partnership with his employer, Norris Winslow, the 
firm being N. Winslow & Compan}', and from that date conducted an 
extensive wholesale and retail trade in dry goods and notions until Sep- 
tember, 1886, and requiring the services of several experienced com- 
mercial travelers. On September 24, 1878, in order to close out a certain 
line of notions, they placed a table in the center aisle of the store, had 
bills printed and distributed throughout this and adjoining towns, and 



188 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

during fair week inaugurated the famous five-cent business, which has 
attained such a remarkable degree of prosperity during these latter 
years. The venture was a success from the start, and in 1886 the dry 
goods stock was closed out, and for a time the firm of Moore & Smith 
did a large business in supplying country merchants witii exclusive five- 
cent goods ; they sold the first stock to F. W. Woolworth, the proprietor of 
the Woolworth Syndicate, operating over one hundred f.ve and ten cent 
stores in the large cities of the United States. They not only furnished his 
first stock on credit, but subsequently aided him in the same way for a year 
or two. Since that an exclusive retail business has been carried on by Mr. 
Moore alone, on the same corner where the five-cent business originated. 
Nothing over ten cents is asked for any article. In addition to the success- 
ful management of his extensive business, Mr. Moore is the president of 
the Watertown Savings, Loan and Building Association, which was or- 
ganized December 19, 1887, and incorporated January 7, 1888. He is a 
member of Trinity (Protestant Episcopal) church, serving in the capacity 
of treasurer and vestryman since September 2. 1868, and is also a Mas- 
ter Mason. He is a manber of the Royal Arcanum and the Independent 
Order of Foresters, and an exempt fireman. He brought to Watertown 
the first automobile in the city, and is still an enthusiastic automobilist. 
He is a member of the Union and Jef¥ersonian clubs and Crescent Yacht 
Club of Watertown. Since 1865 he has been continuously in business on 
his own account in the same store, and is the oldest merchant in point 
of time engaged in the city. His store is on what is known as "The 
American Corner," in the American Block. 

Mr. Moore was married January 15. 186S, to Etta Gennet, a daugh- 
ter of Washington Gennet of Watertown, New York, and two chil- 
dren were the issue of this union — Clara J., now the wife of Charles 
Learned of Watertown; and Louis W. Moore, a resident of Water- 
town. Mrs. Moore died August 29, 1899. Mr. Moore has commanded 
the respect of all with whom he has come in contact, either in a business 
or private relation, by his sterling integrity and faithfulness to every 
trust reposed in him. 

THE WOOLWORTH FAMILY. This is a name of which 
northern New York is proud, its native representatives having conferred 
distinction upon their nativity by their sterling worth and the ability 
displayed in the establishment and management of large financial insti- 
tutions and other extensive business interests. It was found staunch 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 189 

and loyal in the Revolutionary period and again in the late Civil war, 
furnishing numerous soldiers in defense of their country. 

(I) The first of the name in this country was Richard Wool- 
worth, who settled at Newbury, Massachusetts, in 1678. On Christ- 
mas eve of the same year he married Hannah Huggins, of that town. 
The record of his marriage spells the name Woolery, and other records 
of the same town spell it Woolworth. He had taken the oath of alle- 
giance at Ipswich when he arrived at Newbury, and was then thirty 
years old. In those days it was very difficult to obtain permission to go to 
New England, and many who intended New England as their destina- 
tion went first to Virginia, because no obstacles were offered to their 
emigration to that colony. Among the eighty-four passengers of the 
" Plain Joan," who landed in Virginia May 15, 1635, was Richard 
Wooley, born 1600. This vessel sailed from Gravesend, England, and 
all its passengers had " brought attestations of their conformitie to 
the order and discipline of the Church of England." As it is known 
that large numbers found their way to New England by way of Virginia. 
there is good basis for the supposition that Richard Woolworth of 
Newbury was a son of Richard of Virginia. Many authorities vouch for 
the fact that the termination " worth," found in so many names, signi- 
fies a court, a farm, an island or other place of 'possession, and it is prob- 
able that Richard Woolworth adopted it upon receiving a grant of land. 
It is well known to the genealogist that the same name receives various 
spellings in the records of New England, even when written by its pos- 
sessor. On August 10, 1680, Richard Woolworth received a grant of 
land, among one hundred persons, in the southeastern part of Southold, 
then a part of Massachusetts, now Suffield, Connecticut, and on the 
record of this grant the name is spelled Wooley. His land adjoined 
that of John Huggins, a brother of his wife. He took up his residence 
upon this land at once, and died there December 20. 1696. His wife 
died October 19, 1691. Three of their daughters died in early child- 
hood. A daughter and son survived. Hannah, born in 1681, was fif- 
teen years of age at her father's death, and was allowed to administer 
the estate. The only further record of her is her marriage to John Gleason 
in 1704. 

(II) Richard, only son of Richard and Hannah Woolworth, was 
born December 6, 1687, in Suffield, where he passed his life. He was 
married September 15, 17 14, to Elizabeth Hall, of Taunton, Massachu- 
setts, and they were the parents of eight children. The name of Eliza- 



190 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

licth Hrill \\'onl\vortli is the first on the records of the First Congrega- 
tion Chnrch of Snffield, with which slie united by letter June i. 1716. 

(III) Timothv. third son and fifth child of Richard (2) and 
Elizalieth \\'oolworth. was born May 17, 1722, in Sui^field. where he 
was married June 3. 1747, to Mercy Olds, who was born April 30, 1724. 
and liaptized 1747. They hafl ten children, of whom three died in in- 
fancy, all of the survivors being sons. 

(IV) Phineas. sixth son of Timothy and Mercy Woohvorth. was 
l)orn October 31, 1754. in Suffield, and died in the town of Pinckney, 
Lewis county, this state, in 1819. He was married in 1781 to Mercy, 
daughter of Captain Simeon and Grace (Phelps) Sheldon, of Suffield. 
Her paternal grandparents were Thomas and Mary (Hinsdale) Sheldon, 
and Thomas was a son of Isaac Sheldon,, the first of the name in New 
England. The last named settled in Windsor. Connecticut, whence he 
removed to Northampton, Massachusetts, and died in 1708. Phineas 
and Mercy Woohvorth had six sons and three daughters. No record 
of their births is to be found in Suffield or Granville. Massachusetts. 
The wife was admitted to the First Baptist Church of Suffield, by con- 
fession of faith, on the first Sabbath of September, 1802, at the church 
on what is now called " Hastings Hill." Family tradition says that 
they left Granville, Massacfiusetts, in the early part of the year 1806, 
traveling with oxen and sleds, and leading a cow. They settled in the 
town of Denmark, near Copenhagen, and later removed to Pinckney. 
where the father died, as above noted. The mother died in 1831, in 
the town of Lisbon, St. Lawrence County, and her remains were finally 
l^laced beside those of her husband, in Pinckney. She was bom Octo- 
ber 10. 1758. Phineas was a highly successful farmer, antl was able 
to give each of his children seventy acres of land, during his lifetime, 
reserving one hundred acres for himself. With four of his brothers, 
Phineas \\'ool worth participated in the battles of Lexington and Bunker 
Hill, and otherwise served in the Revolutionary army. After serving 
in the alarm party, being one of twenty-three men to respond first from 
Suffield, under command of Captain Nathaniel Hayden, he enlisted 
May 13 in the Tenth Company and was discharged December 17, 1775. 

(\') Thaddeus. eldest child of Phineas and ■Mercy Woohvorth. 
was born in 1782. in Suffield, and came with his father to Lewis county. 
Xew York. In February. 1808. he went back after his bride. Miss Han- 
nah Palmer, of Soutlnvick, Jvlassachusetts (which town adjoins Suf- 
field). and thev were married in Suffield on the sixth of that month. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 191 

by Rev. Joseph Hastings. The marriage was solemnized in Suffield to 
avoid the delay necessitated by the laws of Massachusetts in publishing 
the banns. Returning to Pinckney. New York, he tilled his farm there 
and died in March. 1852. aged about seventy years. His widow sur- 
vived him over twehe years, passing away in July, 1864, aged seventy- 
five years. They were the parents of five daughters and three sons. 
Enoch, the second son, died at five years of age. All the others grew to 
maturity and married. 

(VI) Gilbert Enoch, fourth son and seventh child of Thaddeus 
and Hannah Woolworth, was bom ]\larch 18, 1821, in Pinckney, and 
obtained a practical education in the public schools of that town. He 
was a farmer and dealer in cattle, achieving success, and operated a 
flour mill at Deer River for several years, moving to Watertown in 
1865, where he subsequently dealt largely in grain. During his resi- 
dence in Lewis county he was honored with several positions of respon- 
sibility, including the offices of supervisor and sheritif. After the expira- 
tion of his term in the latter station he refused to lie a candidate for 
further honors, and moved to Deer Rixer, same countv. His death 
occurred very suddenly, while apparently in his usual health, at the 
Phelps Hotel in Henderson, March 14, i8gi. Seized with a severe pain 
in the temple while in con\-ersation, he immediately became unconscious 
and expired before iiis wife and son could reach his side from Water- 
town. 

Mr. \\'oolworth was twice marrietl. His first wife. Elizabeth 
Smith, to whom he was married October 29, 1844, passed away in 1854. 
leaving an only child, Smith T. She was born June 25, 1797, daugh- 
ter of Pamela (Waldo) Smith (see Waldo, VI). On August 19, 1,856, 
Gilbert E. W'oolworth was married to Mary E. White, of Taberg, 
Oneida county, daughter of Israel and Abigail F. (Taft) White, of 
New England ancestry. Mrs. \\'oolworth was born February 28. 183 1, 
in Annsville. New York. She survives her husband. Her children 
were: Gilbert White, died at seven years of age; Elizabeth Mary, resid- 
ing with her mother in \Vatertown : and Leland Gilbert, a merchant of 
that place. 

(VII) Smith Thaddeus Woolworth, only child of Ciilljert E. and 
Elizabeth Woolworth, was born February 14, 1849, '" Pinckney. He 
is one of the leading and influential citizens of W'atertown, has taken 
an active part in pronrnting the substantial improvement and material 
development of the ttiwii, has commanded the respect of his fellow 



192 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

townsmen by his sterling- worth, and his rectitude of character and 
faithfidness to trust furnish an example well worthy of emulation. He 
obtained his preliminary education in the common schools adjacent to 
his home, in Martinsburg and Deer River, and this was supplemented 
by attendance at the Lowville Academy. From the completion of his 
school days until 1864 he assisted with the work of the farm and mill 
operated by his father, and in that year he secured employment in the 
bank at Carthage, New York. In August, 1865, he located in Water- 
town, and accepted a position in the bank of C. G. Hargee & Son, 
where he remained until 1869, when his impaired health compelled him 
to resign. For a short period of time he was employed in a newspaper 
office, later was an employee in the bank of George F. Paddock & Co., 
and in December, 1869, became a teller in the Jefferson County Na- 
tional Bank, being promoted to the position of cashier a year later, in 
which capacity he is serving at the present time (1905). For ten years 
he served as receiver, and during this time closed up the business of 
the Homestead Fire Insurance Company, of Watertown. 

Mr. Woolworth is an honored member of the Universalist Church 
of Watertown, in which he has served as treasurer and trustee. He 
is a Democrat in political affiliations, and a pi^ominent Mason in fra- 
ternal relations, having served as treasurer and recorder of his lodge; 
also an Odd Fellow and Knight of Pythias. Mr. Woolworth has re- 
ceived the nomination for mayor, alderman, congressman and county 
treasurer, but on account of the strong Republican sentiment existing 
in the town and county he was defeated. He was the first president 
of the Jeffersonian Club, the leading Democratic organization of the 
county, the pioneer political organization of Watertown. He has been 
a member of the local board of education, the board of public safety and 
at the present time (1905) is serving on the board of public works. He 
is also a trustee of the City Hospital, and has served as trustee and 
president of the Union Club of Watertovrn. 

On July 22, 1873, Mr. Woolwortii married . Anna Wilhelmina 
Clark, daughter of William H. Clark, of Washington, D. C. Six chil- 
dren have been born of this union, four of whom are now living : Eliza- 
beth, Amy, Gilbert and Wilhelmina Woolworth. Mrs. Woolworth is 
active and prominent in church and philanthropic work, and is a mem- 
ber of the executive committee of the auxiliary board of the City Hos- 
pital. She has served as a director and president of the ladies board in 
charge of the Jefferson County Orphans" Home for several years ; and 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 193 

is a charter member of " The Greeks." the first ladies' literary or study 
ckib organized in Watertown. Her father was a Virginian of Fairfax 
county, of EngHsh descent and related to Sir Robert Peel ; and her 
mother Margaret Ellen Sengstack, was a daughter of Charles Seng- 
stack, of Washington, whose parents were from Bremen, Germany, to 
Frederick, Maryland, and who married Catherine Haller, of Cumber- 
land, Maryland, of an old Holland family. 

(V) Chauncey, second son of Phineas and Mercy (Sheldon) 
Woolworth, was born in 1785, in Suffield, and was about at his majority 
when he accompanied his father to Lewis county. In common with 
others of his father's children he received seventy acres of land, and to 
this he added by his industry and thrift. He continued to till his land 
until advancing years compelled him to abandon active labor. He died 
at the home of his daughter in Tylerville. in 1876, aged ninety-one 
years. In 1807, he married Betsey Granger, who was born in 1786, a 
daughter of Deacon George Granger, of Southwick. ^lassachusetts, and 
his first wife, Lucy Campbell (see Granger). Chauncey Woolworth 
was a man of fine mind, popular and in advance of his day, being well 
educated for his time, and served as assessor and town clerk in Pinck- 
ney. A Methodist in religious faith, he attended the worship of that 
denomination with his family. He was a Whig, and among the found- 
ers of the Republican party. His first wife died about 1834, and he mar- 
ried in 1836 Fanny Stoddard, who was the mother of two of his chil- 
dren. There were six sons and three daughters. Norman, the fourth 
son, was killed by lightning at the age of sixteen }-ears : Eunice, the eld- 
est daughter, died when four years old ; and Levi, the youngest child, 
reached the age of ten years, only. 

(VI) Volney, third son and child of Chauncey and Betsey 
(Granger) Woolworth, was born June i, 1S12, in Pinckney, where he 
grew up. On attaining manhood he settled on a farm in Denmark, 
Lewis county, containing one hundred and sixty acres. This he sold 
in 1847 ^nd removed to Champion " Huddle," where he purchased one 
hundred and seventy-four acres, and continued to live upon and till this 
farm until his death, March 6, 1878. He was an industrious and suc- 
cessful farmer, fond of good horses and stock of all kinds. He main- 
tained a dairy of forty cows, and raised the largest steer on record, 
which he always personally fed and cared for. It was sold for $420 to 
a New York man, who kept it two years and then dressed over four 
thousand pounds of beef from it. Mr. Woolworth drove large herds 



194 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

of cattle, one of 306 head, from Canada here, and from here to Massa- 
chusetts. In his last years he did a large husiness in pressing hay. 
While in no sense a politician he was a firm adherent of the principles 
of the Republican part}-, and served as highway commissioner. He was 
a member of the Independent Order of Good Templars, and attended 
the Congregational church at Champion. 

Volney Woolworth was married, 1834-5 to Betsey, daughter of 
Levi Moors, of Denmark (see Moors). Four of their children grew to 
maturity. George Granger, the eldest, died in Champion, at the age 
of forty-four years. John Isaac was a soldier in the Civil war, a mem- 
ber of the Ninety-fourth Regiment 'New York \'olunteers, and died on 
the homestead in Champion when about forty-five years old. Seymour 
A. is the subject of the following paragraphs, as is also Elijah 'SI. 

(VII) Seymour Alfred Woolworth, third son of Volney and Bet- 
sey Woohvorth, was born Fel>ruary 23, 1842, in the town of Denmark, 
and was five years old when the family moved to Champion. He 
attended the district school at " The Huddle " until he was eighteen 
vears of age. and in meantime performed his share of the labors of the 
home farm. He continued t(i assist his father in the tillage and man- 
agement of the farm until his marriage at the age of twenty-six, when 
he settled upon a farm which he purchased in the southern part of the 
town, the former home of Colonel Elias Sage (see Sage). Besides his 
purchase, he worked another farm, and milked one hundred cows for 
some six years. During that time he carried on cheese making and 
then moved to the city of Watertown. where he continued to reside a 
like period looking after his land during this time. After selling ofif 
one hundred and fourteen acres he is now the owner of three hundred 
and eighty, and operates a cheese factory which consiunes the milk of' 
three hundred cows, and carries on diversified farming, with the suc- 
cess which always attends intelligent effort industriously pursued. His 
own herd includes fifty cows of Holstein blood, and he produces from 
one thousand to fifteen hundred bushels of oats and barley annually. His 
farm is finely located, on the upper waters of Big Sandy Creek, and is 
especially adapted for the growth of hay and dairy products. Mr. 
Woolworth is recognized as a progressive farmer, and affiliates with 
Copenhagen Grange. No. 90. He attends the Congregational church at 
Copenhagen, and is an influential member of the Republican party, but 
has always refused official station, either in grange or town affairs. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 195 

He believes that the successful cultivation of his large farm demands 
his best efforts and constant attention. 

Mr. W'oolworth was married October 23, 1867, to Miss Martha J. 
Sage, daughter of Colonel Elias Sage, a pioneer of Champion. Three 
daughters have come to Mr. and Mrs. Woolworth. ' Bertha, born Aug- 
ust 14, 1870, died in 1889. Emily Rundle, born January 11, 1873, was 
married in 1893 to A'ictor H. Cook, who is in the plumbing and steam 
heating luisiness, and resides in \\'atertown. They have one child, Ade- 
laide. Gertrude Moors, born November 29, 1877, resides with her 
parents. 

(VII) Elijah ]Moors W'oolworth. fourth son of \'olnev and Bet- 
sey Woolworth, was born June 19, 1844, in Pinckney and grew up on 
his father's farm in Champion, receiving his education in the public 
.schools at "The Huddle." He continued at home until his majority, 
forming habits of industry in the routine of farm work, and under the 
able instruction of his father acquiring a knowledge of the most advanced 
methods. About the time of his marriage he accjuired a farm of one 
hundred and ninety-si.x acres west of Champion village, known as the 
" Starr farm." on which he continued to live and labor, with the excep- 
tion of the time spent in the Union army, until his death. He main- 
tained a dairy ol thirty-five to forty cows, and was a successful farmer 
and a good citizen. A strong supporter of Republican principles, he 
volunteered, when the integrity of the nation seemed in greatest peril, 
in August, 1864, as a member of Company H, One Hundred and Eighty- 
sixth Regiment New York Volunteers, and served until the close of 
the Civil war, participating in the final capture of Petersburg, the last 
decisive battle of the war. In going to his country's defense, Mr. Wool- 
worth made no little sacrifice, as the demands of a large farm upon his 
time and attention were most urgent at the time. He died December 
20, 1899, ^t his home in Champion. He was a member of the Methodist 
church of Champion, and of Great Bend Grange, as was also his wife, 
but steadily refused to be a candidate for any office, either in civil or 
fraternal affairs. 

Elijah M. Woolworth was married August 6, 1866, to Mary Jane 
Arthur, who was born February 25. 1846, in Lowville (see Arthur). 
Their children are six in number: Arthur Elijah is the manager of a 
five and ten cent store at Muskegon, Michigan. Herbert Grant and 
Fred Moors are in promising situations in New York city. Ada Estelle 



196 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

is the wife of George Bates, of Lansing, Michigan. Helen Alary and 
Emma Maude are at home with their mother, in. West Carthage. 

(V) Jasper, fourth son and child of Phineas and Mercy (Shel-" 
don) \\'ool\vorth, was born March 8. i/Sg, in Suffield, Connecticut, and 
came with his parents to northern New York when about seventeen years 
old. As there was abundant work for all in clearing the wilderness, it 
is probable that most of his schooling was obtained in Connecticut. He 
married, in 1816, Elizabeth G. Buell, who w^as born in 1796, in Hebron, 
Tolland county, Connecticut, some twenty-five miles from his native 
place. She was a granddaughter of John Hubbell Buell, and a daugh- 
ter of Aaron and Beulah (Dorchester) Buell. He engaged in farming 
in the town of Pinckney, Lewis county, and moved in 1836 to Water- 
t(jwn, where he continued several years and finally purchased a large 
farm and continued until March i. 1859, when he removed to North 
Adams. His wife died January 6, 1871. in her seventy-fifth year, and 
is buried at Pierrepont Manor. He passed away at Pierrepont Manor 
where he had a large farm, October 8, 1873, well along in his eighty- 
fifth year. Their third child, Emily, died when one year old. Three 
sons and three daughters grew up, namely: Horace, John H., Louisa, 
Mary E. and George (twins) and Adelia. The first and last three never 
married. Horace died in Rodman, at the age of thirty-six years. Louisa 
married Edwin Andrews, whom she survives, and resides near !Manns- 
ville, where Mary now lives. 

(VI) John Hubbell Woolworth. second child and son of Jasper 
and Elizabeth Woolworth, was born August 16. 182 1, in Pinckney, 
where he grew to the age of seventeen. He was married January 14, 
185 1, to Eanny McBrier, wdio was born April 15, 1829, at Pillar Point, 
this county, and died February 15, 1878. Their children were Frank 
W. and Charles Sumner, both of whom are noticed at length in this ar- 
ticle. I\Ir. Woolworth was highly successfid as a farmer, his farm being 
near Great Bend, in the town of Champion, and is now living retired 
from active labor, in his eighty-fourth year, at Great Bend. He is a 
highly respected citizen and an exemplary member of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church. He was married a second time, August 19, 1880, to Eliza- 
beth E. Austin, of Watertown. Mr. Woolworth was a Whig in early 
manhood, casting his first presidential vote for his party candidate in 
1844. He wa.s among the founders of the Republican party and has ever 
supported its principles. He has never sought for political honors, and 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 197 

his chief official service has been rendered as school trustee, through his 
interest in the maintenance of good schools. 

(^^II) Frank Winfield Woohvorth, whose name is familiar in 
man}- of the largest cities as a merchant of pre-eminent ability, and 
whose residence is at 990 Fifth avenue. New York cit_v, is a native of 
Rodman, born April 13, 1852, a son of John H. and Fann)- (McBrier) 
Woolworth. His residence is one of the finest in the city, and could 
not be bought for one million dollars. 

Frank W. Woolworth was educated in the public schools of his 
native town and of Great Bend, and he pursued a commercial course in 
a business college in Watertown. He began his mercantile career at 
the age of twenty-one years as a clerk in the dry-goods store of Moore 
& Smith, in Watertown, and remained in the employ of that firm for 
six years. During this time his employers, in order to rid themselves 
of an accumulation of various classes of goods not in general demand 
and occupying space which was needed for fresher articles, set up a five- 
cent counter, and this venture proved a great success. The firm also 
made sales of the same classes of goods to country merchants. With 
quick perception young Woolworth recognized in this innovation the 
germ of a business of itself, and he determined to make of it an enter- 
prise of his own. Accordingly, when in his twenty-seventh year, he 
opened one of the first exclusive five-cent stores in the country, at Utica, 
New York, with a stock of $325 in value, made possible by credit ex- 
tended to him by his former employers, Moore & Smith, of Watertown. 
Success attended him during the first few weeks, but the outlook became 
discouraging later. Through the influence of Moore & Smith he sought 
a new location. The Utica store was closed out and on June 21, 1879, 
he opened a similar establishment in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He was 
successful here and his business constantly developed, enabling him to 
establish his stores in other cities, and in ten years the number was 
twelve. At the present the aggregate number is more than one hun- 
dred and twenty-five, distributed among the principal cities of the Union. 
The magnitude of his operations may be discerned in the fact that his 
sales amount to about ten million dollars a year. He has three buyers 
constantly employed in European markets, and his name figures most 
conspicuously in custom house afifairs, while his patronage has enriched 
scores of manufacturers both in Europe and the United States. In 
lines covering about one-half his importations he is the largest importer 
in the United States; in some lines he imports three-quarters of the 



198 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

total quantit}' brought into the country ; and in laces, toys and china he 
is the second largest American importer. An item of his business is 
candy, of which his sales amount to the enormous quantity of seven 
thousand tons a year. His stores are all spacious and handsomely ap- 
pointed. His Lancaster building, which has grown out of the second 
establishment which he founded, is the finest business edifice in the state 
outside Philadelphia. In Greater New York he maintains eleven estab- 
lishments, all most convenient and beautifully attractive. He has upon 
his pay-rolls an army of over five thousand people, and the annual 
amount of their salaries is over one million. 

Mr. Woolworth is actively interested in various large financial cor- 
porations, among them being the Guardian Trust Company, of which 
he is president, and the New York National Exchange Bank, in which 
he is a director. He enters with intelligence and enthusiasm into many 
of the larger afifairs of metropolitan business and social life, and affords 
his aid towards advancing the commercial and financial interests of the 
city. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Union League Club, 
the Arkwright Club, the Lotus Club, and the Hardware Club. 

Mr. Woolworth was married, June ii, 1876, to Miss Jennie, daugh- 
ter of Thomas Creighton, of Picton, Ontario. Of this marriage have 
been born three children : Helena, Edna and Jessie Woolworth. The 
first is the wife of Charles E. T. McCann, a nephew of Richard Croker, 
an attorney and ex-assistant district attorney of New York. Her wed- 
ding, which occurred April 20, 1904, was one of the largest ever held 
in the city. The other daughters are at home. All are finely educated 
and speak French and German. 

(A'H) Charles Sumner, second son of John H. and Fanny (Mc- 
Brier) \\'oohvorth, was born August i, 1856, in Rodman, Jefferson 
county, and grew up from the age of two and one-half years, on his 
father's farm at Great Bend. He continued to attend the public school 
there until he was nineteen years old, meantime performing such labor 
as falls to the lot of farmers' sons, thus hardening his muscles and fit- 
ting him for the arduous business life which he is now living. He re- 
mained on the paternal farm until he was twenty-two years of age, when 
he became a salesman in the dry-goods store of Moore & Smith in Wa- 
tertown. After nearly a year of this experience, he joined his elder 
brother, wlio had just established the five and ten cent business on a suc- 
cessful fociting. He opened a branch store for his brother in Harris- 
1)urg. i'cnnsvhania, and remained there eight months, at the enrl of 




RESIDENCE OF F. W. WOOLWORTH 

990 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK CITY, N. E. CORNER EIGHTIETH STREET 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. rj9 

whicli time he m(i\-eil tlie store to York, same state, where he remained 
three months. At this time it was not supposed by the founders that 
the business could be permanently located at one point, and a policy 
of frequent removals was deemed necessary. 

After spending a short time at Lancaster, Mr. Woohvorth went to 
Scranton to manage a store for his brother, and here was well proven 
the stability of the business, as he has since continued to operate there 
with flattering success. After a few months he became a partner and, 
a year later, sole owner. His first stock was worth about six hundred 
dollars, and he now occupies one of the finest double stores in the city, 
running through an entire block. Not only has he been very success- 
ful in Scranton, but he now owns eight other stores, five in the state of 
New York and three in Alaine. In 1S89 Mr. Woohvorth built a hand- 
some and substantial home in Scranton, and he also maintains a beautiful 
country place at Dalton, ten miles north of Scranton. known as " Edge- 
wood." His business enterprise has not been confined to mercantile af- 
fairs alone, and he is a director of the Trader's National Bank and of the 
People's Bank of Scranton, and vice-president of the Groat Knitting 
Company of that city. He is also director of the United States Lum- 
ber Company, a corporation with a capital of six million dollars, operat- 
ing mills in Pennsylvania and. Mississippi. 

Mr. Woohvorth is also mindful of the moral and social duties of 
the good citizen, and holds a pew in the ^Methodist church. He is a 
member of the Scranton Club and the New England Society of north- 
eastern Pennsylvania. An earnest supporter of Republican principles, 
he confines his political action to the performance of the duty which de- 
volves upon every true citizen, namely the expression of his choice at 
the polls. A busy man, he always finds time to be courteous, and his 
genial and kindly nature makes him the friend of every one who strives 
for some worthy object. All measures calculated to improve the stand- 
ards, mental, moral and material, of his home town and state and of 
mankind generally find in him a friend and supporter. 

Mr. Woolworth was married June 2, 1886, to Miss Anna E. Ryals, 
who was born in L^tica. New York, daughter of Isaac G. and Mary A. 
(Davies) Ryals. ]\lr. Ryals is a native of England and now resides 
in Utica. His wife, now deceased, was a native of New York. Three 
children complete the home circle of ]\Ir. and ]\Irs. ^^'oolworth. namely : 
Ethel Mae, Fred Everett and Richard Wesley. Their home in Scran- 
ton is the abode of contentment and hospitable good cheer. 



200 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

(VIII) Fred I\Ioors Woolworth, manager of the Woolworth 
Syndicate store. Sixth avenue, New York, born January i, 1871, in 
Champion, is the third son and child of Ehjah Moors and Mary J. 
(Arthur) Woolworth, of Champion. 

He attended the common schools until seventeen years old, and 
then spent three years at the Carthage high school. Subsequently he 
entered the employ of Charles S. Woolworth, at Scranton, Pennsyl- 
vania, where he remained three years and thoroughly learned the busi- 
ness, which he has helped to build up to its present immense proportions. 
From Scranton he went to Auburn, New York, and took charge of the 
branch store there, remaining one year. From this place he was pro- 
moted to a similar position at Portland, Maine, where he remained two 
years. This was followed by a stay of one year in charge of the branch 
at Atlanta, Georgia, owned by F. W. Woolworth, and three years in 
the West Harlem (New York) store. Then came his advancement to 
the management of the elegantly appointed store at No. 260 Sixth ave- 
nue, New York city, the largest five and ten-cent store in the world, 
and the one doing the most business. 

Mr. Woolworth's rapid advancement from a subordinate place to 
his present position is sufficient testimonial of his ability as a business 
man. He is not a memlier of any club, order, lodge, or other organiza- 
tion for recreation or amusement. He votes the Republican ticket. 

Fred M. Woolworth and Velma E. Bailey, daughter of Sumner 
Bailey, of Portland, Maine, were married January 6, 1898, and have 
one child, Norman D. Woolworth. 

JOHN JAY ALLEN, an active business man of Watertown, inter- 
ested in some of her leading industries, traces his ancestry to 1568, 
through a line of industrious, honorable and intelligent people. The 
family has numerous representatives throughout the United States, and 
they are usually found among the useful and desirable citizens. 

(I) George Allen, born in England about 1568, under the reign 
of Queen Elizabeth, came to America with his family in 1635, and settled 
in Saugus (Lynn), Massachusetts. He had ten children, some of whom 
had preceded him to this country, and settled in the vicinity of Boston. 
In 1637 George Allen joined with Edmund Freeman and others in the 
purchase of the township of Sandwich. When this town was incor- 
porated, Mr. Allen was chosen deputy — the first officer in the town^- 
and served in that capacity for several years. He was a conscientious 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 201 

Puritan, and a nieinlier of the Baptist church. After the purchase of 
Sandwich, several of Ins sons moved to that town with their famihes. 
George Allen died in Sandwich, May 2, 1648, aged eighty years. In 
his will he named five sons, Matthew, Henry, Samuel, George and W'ill- 
iam, and also made provision for his "five least children." without naming 
them. From the fact that others of the name came from Braintree. 
Essex, England, about the same time, it is inferred that he came from 
the same locality. In 1632 Samuel and Matthew Allen, and their brother, 
Thomas Allyn (as he spelled it), came from Braintree and located at 
Cambridge, whence all of them subsequently moved to Connecticut. 

(II) Samuel, one of the sons of George Allen, was born in Eng- 
land, and came to Boston in 1628. On July 6, 1635, it was recorded 
that he was a freeman in Braintree. His first wife's name was Ann. She 
died September 29, 1641, being the mother of Samuel, Joseph, James, 
Sarah and Mary. Sarah married Lieutenant Josiah Standish, son of 
Miles Standish. Mary married Nathaniel Greenwood. For his second 
wife, Samuel Allen married Margaret Lamb, widow of Edward Lamb, 
and they had one child, Abigail, who married John Gary. 

(III) Samuel (2), son of Samuel and Ann Allen, was born No- 
vember 10, 1632, in Braintree or Duxbury, Massachusetts, and married 
Sarah Partridge, daughter of George Partridge, of Duxbury, in 1658. 
He settled in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, in 1660, and was a 
deacon of the church, town clerk and representative. His children were : 
Samuel, Ezriel, Mehetable, Sarah, Bethia, Nathaniel, Ebenezer, Josiah, 
Elisha and Nehemiah. Mehetable married Isaac Alden, grandson of 
John Alden. Sarah became the wife of Jonathan Gary, and Bethia mar- 
ried John Pryer. 

(IV) Samuel (3), son of Samuel Allen (2) and Sarah Partridge, 
was born December 4, 1660, and married (first) Rebecca Cary, grand- 
daughter of Miles Standish. She died in 1697, being the mother of 
Samuel, Ephraim, Timothy, Joseph (died young) and Mehetable. Mr. 
Allen's second wife, Mary Alden, was a granddaughter of John Alden, 
and their children were : Joseph, Benjamin, Mary, Rebecca, Matthew, 
Seth and Abigail. 

(V) Timothy, son of Samuel (3) and Rebecca Allen, was born 
February 22, 1691, in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. He removed 
to that part of Norwich, Connecticut, now Lisbon, and married, 
October 11, 1714, Rachael Bushnell, of Norwich. Their children were: 



202 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Timothy, Daniel, Rachel, Rthecca, Seth, Ehenezer, Thankful, Hezekiah 
mid Phineas. The eldest, born 1715, graduated at Yale in 1736. 

(\T) Daniel Alien, second son of Timothy and Rachel Allen, was 
born in 1717, in Norwich, Connecticut, and died June 2, 181 1, at the 
advanced age of ninety-four years. 

(VII) John Allen, son of Daniel Allen, was born ]\Iarch 5, 1753. 
He served in the American army in the Revolutionary war and was 
wounded twice, first at a battle in New Jersey and the second time when 
the British took possession of New York city. He died in Stephentown, 
New York, December 31, 1830, at the age of seventy-seven years. His 
wife, Sarah Kendall, was born in 1757, and died in Stephentown, March 
5, 1812. Their children were: Daniel, John J., Zuba and Polly. 

(Vni) John Jay Allen, son of John Allen, was born in Stephen- 
town, where he died in 1829, at the age of forty years. He was a min- 
ister of the Freewill Baptist church. He married (first) a Miss Sheldon, 
by whom he had two children: Joseph and Sally A. His second wife 
was Judith, daughter of Joshua Palmer, who lived to the very venerable 
age of ninety-four years. The children of this marriage were : Daniel, 
a resident of Schenectady, New York, where he died March 23, 1899; 
Mrs. Hannah L. Carr, who died in California about 1900; Mrs. Susan 
A. McDowell, of Santa Rosa, California; and John Jay. 

(IX) John Jay Allen, son of John Jay Allen (2d), was born in 
Stephentown, New Y'ork, April 25, 1822. He was educated in the semi- 
nary at Whitestown, New York, became a noted Greek and Latin scholar, 
and for over forty years was a minister of the Baptist church, officiating 
as pastor at many churches throughout this state. During the Civil war 
he was for three years an active and valuable worker in the Christian and 
Sanitary commissions, and after the cessation of hostilities he was em- 
ployed by the government for many years as a seed tester, experimenting 
in the production of a great variety of fruits and cereals on a small tract 
of land at Depauville, New York, w-here he located in 1859. He was a 
ready and fluent writer and an authoritative and valuable contributor for 
several years to the leading agricultural periodicals of this and foreign 
countries, winning wide reputation in that direction. He gave an un- 
swerving support to the Republican party, and while he was a most 
untiring temperance worker and a most zealous advocate of the cause, 
he was strongly opposed to the Prohibition party as a political organ- 
ization and also an opponent of local option ideas. He married Alma 
J. Wheeler, of Clinton, Oneida countv. New York, a daughter of Arnold 



GENEALOGICAL AXD FAMILY HISTORY. "-^03 

and Hannah (Dilley) Wheeler. The children of this marriage are: 
Sarah J., wife of Edward Smith, of Le Raysville, New York; Ida May, 
now the wife of Charles Nelson, of Taberg, New York ; and John Jay. 
jNIr. Allen died at Depauville, New York, May 26, 1899, at the age of 
seventy-seven years, and his wife's death occurred there June 5, 1900, 
when she was seventy-eight years of age. 

iX) John Jay Allen (4th) was born in Depauville, New Y'ork, 
July 30, 1862, and pursued his more advanced education in the State 
Normal school at Potsdam, New York, and in Ives Seminary, at Ant- 
werp. In early manhood he followed the profession of teaching and 
later became a commercial traveler, while subsecjuently he turned his 
attention to the insurance and real estate business. For some years he 
was [)ruminent in local athletics, and played center on the Watertown 
football team in 1898-9, and Avas manager of the team in 1900-1, and 
assistant manager in 1903. He is now largely interested in the manu- 
facture of clothing and in conducting an extensive brickyard at Water- 
town. Both are important business interests, contributing to the general 
prosperity as well as to the individual success of the owners. 

In politics Mr. Allen has been a lifelong Republican and for two 
years was chairman of the Republican city central committee of Water- 
town, while for six years he was clerk of the county central committee. 
He is a member of Depauville Lodge No. 688, F. &. A. M. ; the Royal 
Arcanum Lodge Number 157, of Watertown; a charter member of the 
Lincoln League, of Watertown ; the Commercial Travelers' Eastern Acci- 
dent Association, of Boston ; the Commercial Travelers' Club, of Water- 
town ; the Commercial Travelers' Mutual Accident Association of Amer- 
ica ; is an officer of the United Commercial Travelers, Watertown Coun- 
cil No. 238; and is a communicant of St. Paul's Episcopal church, at 
Watertown. 

:\Ir. Allen was married September 7, 1899, to ]\Irs. Alary Lydia 
Thompson, widow of George D. Thompson, of Alexandria Bay, and 
daughter of the late Alvin H. Hall, of Watertown. ]\Ir. and Mrs. Allen 
have two children, born as follows : Frances Alma, September 9, 1900, 
and Rosalie, June 19, 1903. An elder daughter of Mrs. Allen, Carrie 
May Thompson, was born June 7, 1882. 

(I) The Hall family, of which Mrs. Allen is an ofTshoot, has 
been traced to Peletiah Hall, who located in Walpole, New Hampshire, 
soon after 1760, and is presumed to have been a brother of Jonathan 
Hall, who located there at the same time. Mrs. Philippi Hall, born 1684, 



2(14 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

who died in ^^'aIpole in 1774. is supposed to have been their mother. 
Peletiah Hall's second wife, Lydia Hunt, was wedded in 1778. Mr. 
Hall died January 11, 1784, aged eighty-two years. He had two sons, 
Peletiah and Roland. 

(H) Roland, son of Peletiah Hall, was married in 1777 to Eliza- 
beth Willard. He settled in Cooperstown, New York. He had sons, 
Roland, Peletiah, Willard, Sylvanus and Samuel, and three or four 
daughters. 

(III) Captain Roland Hall, son of Roland Hall, born 1783, mar- 
ried Lydia, daughter of Captain William Harris, who distinguished him- 
self in the war of 18 12. She was a lady of great good sense and pure. 
Christian character. Captain Hall accompanied his brother, Peletiah, to 
Champion, in this county, in a very early day, before 1808, where lx)th 
bought land and became well-to-do. His children, all born in Cham- 
pion, were: William, M. D., Flavilla, Eliza Ann, Harriet, Jane E.. Au- 
gustus, Alvin H., Harriet P., Rozell and Roland. 

(IV) Alvin H. Hall, eighth child and third son of Roland (2) 
and Lydia (Harris) Hall, was born July 17, 1824, in Champion, and 
became widely known and useful in organizations designed to advance 
agriculture and develop the resources of his native county. He estab- 
lished and successfully published several daily and weekly newspapers, 
the most notable being the Daily Neitfs, of Alexandria, Virginia, the 
only Union paper published south of the Potomac during the Civil war. 
In 1872 he was president of the New York State Editorial Association. 
For a time, he was half-owner and associate editor of the New York 
Husbandman, of Elmira, which he sold out in 1883, and retired from 
active business, ranoving to Watertown. He settled twenty families in 
the town of Lyme, this count}-, on lands which he sold on easy terms, 
and the location became known as "Hall's Settlement." Mr. Hall mar- 
ried (first) Miss Lucy A. Sylvester, who died of consumption within 
two years, and their only child died at four months of age. He was 
married (second) July 27, 1859, to Miss Helen A., only daughter of the 
late Stephen Boon, a prominent citizen of Watertown. Mrs. Hall died 
January 10, 1893, in Watertown, where she w-as born, June 17, 1837. 
Mr. Hall died in March, 18S4. at Ypsilanti. Michigan. Their elder 
child is now the wife of John J. Allen. The second. Alvin S., born 1862, 
is a practicing attorney in New York city. 

Stephen Boon, above mentioned, was born July 27. 1805. in Man- 
chester, Vermont, a son of Stephen and Sally Boon, natives of the same 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 205 

town, and died August 15, 1892, in Watertown. Mr. Boon became a 
large landholder, his property being all within the present city limits, 
and built the City Hotel and over one hundred houses. He was director 
of the Watertown Bank, and was often chosen as executor or adminis- 
trator of estates. As superintendent of the poor, he served well the inter- 
ests of both the needy and the taxpayers, and served the state many 
years as appraiser of bank mortgages. His wife, Mary Ann, daughter 
of Roswell and Innocence Wilcox, of Malone, died January 30, 1871. 
She was born December 19, 1812. 

HON. JOHN P. DOUGLAS. The death of Hon. John Pettit 
Douglas, late of Theresa, Jefferson county, New York, terminated the 
career of a man who early in life learned the lesson of self-reliance 
through discipline and personal experience. He was a deservedly popu- 
lar and influential man, active, with an unblemished character and of 
strict integrity, combined with force and ability. He was born on Pillar 
Point, in Brownville, New York, in the old homestead now occupied by 
his brother, Chester Douglas, August 10, 1825, a son of James Douglas, 
who settled on Pillar Point about 1820, and his wife, Susan (Pettit) 
Douglas, a sister of the distinguished Judge John Pettit, who for many 
years represented an Indiana district in congress, and granddaughter of 
Captain William Selfridge, of revolutionary fame. His paternal grand- 
father came to America in 1773 from Inverness, Scotland, to espouse 
the cause of the colonies and to- give them financial aid. He landed the 
day of the Boston "tea-party," and soon settled with his family in Albany, 
New York. 

John P. Douglas received his education in the common schools, 
with two terms at a select school in Brownville taught by Silas Webb. 
He began teaching school at the age of seventeen years, and upon attain- 
ing the age of twenty-four years he was elected superintendent of schools, 
which office he held three years. In the meantime he engaged in mer- 
cantile pursuits in Limerick, New York, subsequently made his head- 
quarters as a wholesale produce dealer at Watertown, New York, but 
shortly afterward disposed of his business and formed a copartnership 
with Curtis Noble, of New York city, under the firm name of Douglas & 
Noble, for the purpose of buying and selling produce. They were 
wholesale dealers, and operated in butter, cheese, and largely in cot- 
ton. He removed with his family to Brooklyn, New York, and soon 
became prominent in the business, political and social circles of that city. 



206 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

He never sought public office, but in 1S71 was elected to the Republi- 
can ticket as alderman of the eleventh ward of Brooklyn, and served 
in that capacity for two years. He was also apiwinted a director of the 
Atlantic Avenue Railroad, the East River Savings Bank, and several 
insurance companies. He served for a term of years as director of the 
St. Lawrence State Hospital at Ogden.sburg. New York. After twenty- 
five years of active business life in New York his health began to fail, 
and he longed for the fresh air of country life. He disposed of his city 
interests and at once returned to Jefferson county, where in the mean- 
time he had added to his early purchases, thus making him the largest 
land owner in the county, his estate covering over three thousand acres, 
all of which is productive farming land. He always took an active in- 
terest in the work of the grange of Theresa, New York, of which he was 
a member, and served as worthy master for many years. He was the 
first to introduce into the county thoroughbred Holstein-Fresian cattle, 
and the cheese from his factories won medals at the Columbian Exposi- 
tion, and are eagerly sought at home and abroad. 

In 1890 Mr. Douglas reorganized the Watertown Pressed Brick 
Company, was elected president, and served in that capacity a number 
oi years, but finally on account of pressure of business he resigned this 
office, but continued as a stockholder up to the time of his decease. He 
was instrumental in the organization of the Watertown Produce Ex- 
change, and was its first president, serving five years. In 1894, realizing 
the necessity of another daily paper in the coimty, he became the leader 
in the organization of the "Watertown Daily Standard," was elected its 
first president, and held the office until his death. In this capacity he 
worked in harmony with the late Hannibal Smith (sketch of whom ap- 
pears elsewhere in this work), and their work will be a permanent and 
honorable part of local history. He was a delegate to the Chicago^ con- 
vention in 1880, and was one of the three hundred and nine who voted for 
General Grant for a third presidential term, and he was named in con- 
nection with the office of representative in congress. He was foremost 
in all enterprises tO' promote the interest of his town and county, and 
was always ready with a generous hand to alleviate human suffering. 
He also contributed freely of his time, substance and influence to main- 
tain the Sabbath service. 

Air. Douglas married, in 1854, Miss Henrietta Hughson, daughter 
of the late L. P. Hughson, Esq., of Pulaski. New York, who was exten- 
sively engaged in real estate transactions up to the time of his death, 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 207 

in the sixty-firsi year of his age; his wife, Elmira E. (Tucker) Hughson, 
who died in the seventy-fourth year of her age, bore him seven children, 
three of whom are now Hving — Mrs. John P. Douglas, Mrs. Leroy Red- 
field, of California, and Mrs. B. F. Taylor, of Pulaski, New York. Mr. 
Douglas died very unexpectedly on September 20, 1903, the morning 
following his return from attentling the Produce Exchange meeting in 
Watertown. He is survived by a widow and four children, two sons and 
two daughters: i, Curtis N., mentioned hereinafter; 2, Daniel Chamber- 
lain, mentioned hereinafter: 3, Henrietta, widow of Major Mordaunt 
L. Shipley, of the Thirteenth Bengal Lancers, Anglo-Indian service, 
who died recently in India; their son, Curtis Mordaunt Shipley, is the 
lineal descendant of that name; 4, Kathleen, a noted vocalist of the 
county. The funeral services were held in the Presbyterian church. 
Revs, W. H. Bury, of Copenhagen, and C. G. Cady, of Theresa, officiat- 
ing. The interment was in Oakwood. 

Curtis N. Douglas, eldest son of Hon. John P. and Henrietta 
(Hughson) Douglas, is one of the well known and influential men of 
Albany, New York, not only in business but in social and political circles 
as well. After having been graduated from Rochester University he 
held a position on the editorial staff of the "Watertown Post." He 
then went to New York city, where he conducted a private school for 
a number of years, after which he removed to Albany, New York, and 
assisted his father-in-law. Lemon Thomson, for many ytzrs a well known 
banker, lumber dealer and capitalist, up to the time of his death, since 
which time Mr. Douglas has conducted the extensive business alone. 
Shortly after taking up his residence in Albany, Mr. Douglas was elected 
president, against strong opposition, of the Young Men's Association 
of that city, in which he soon became very popular, and was offered the 
nomination for mayor of the city, which he refused, but later was elected 
senator from the twenty-ninth district on the Democratic ticket, although 
that district was largely Republican. His name was also prominently 
mentioned as a candidate for governor on the Democratic ticket. He 
is a member of the Fort Orange and several other prominait clubs. By 
his marriage to Nancy Tliomson. youngest daughter of Lemon Thom- 
son, he is the father of the following named children : Kenneth. Doro- 
thea, and Gertrude. 

Daniel Chamberlain Douglas, second son of Hon. John P. and 
Henrietta (Hughson) Douglas, was born in Brooklyn, New York. When 
he was five years of age his parents removed to New York city, where 



208 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

his studies were pursued until his fourteenth year, when he went with 
his family to Stuttgart, Germany, and was a student for two years in a 
German institute. On his return to America he entered Stevens High 
School, New Jersey, where he studied two years, and the following three 
years he pursued a course in Colgate Academy and Colgate University, 
at Hamilton, New York. On account of impaired health he relinquished 
his studies and acted as private secretar}' to his father until the spring 
of 1894, when he was appointed treasurer of the Watertown Standard 
Publishing Company, serving in that capacity until 1896, when he was 
elected vice-president. He was the incumbent of that office until the 
death of his father, in 1903, since which time he has acted as president. 
He is also the administrator of his father's estate, transacting a large 
amount of business connected therewith and superintending the extensive 
farming operations. He is a young man of excellent business ability, 
tlioroughly capable of fulfilling the onerous duties and obligations laid 
upon him. He has traveled considerably in this country and in Europe, 
and has taken advantage of his many opportunities in storing his mind 
with history and memories of personal experiences. He is a charter 
member of the Crescent Yacht Club, a member of the Young Men's 
Christian Association, and a member of the Lincoln League. He is a 
Republican in politics. 

THE WATERTOWN STANDARD. The Standard Publishing 
Company, of Watertown, was organized by a few zealous and generous- 
hearted Repuolicans m February, 1894, to supply a needed exponent of 
the principles and glorious achievements of the great Republican party, 
with a capital stock of $15,000, with the following officers: John P. 
Douglas, president ; A. M. Munk, vice-president ; C. S. Adams, secretary ; 
D. C. Douglas, treasurer. 

The company was duly incorporated in March, 1894, for the purpose 
of publishing a daily paper to be called "The Watertown Daily Standard," 
also a "Semi-Weekly Standard," together with job printing. The com- 
pany was assisted by the following staff : Alpha Child, editor-in-chief ; 
C. S. Adams, city editor; D. C. Douglas, business manager. The first 
issue of the "Watertown Daily Standard" was March 21, 1S94. Mr. 
Child, after about one year of editorial life, severed his connection with 
the Standard, and Orlo B. Rhodes, of Adams, occupied the responsible 
position of editor-in-chief until his death in June, 1904. After the 
"Standard" had been in operation one year the prospects of a large cir- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. . 209 

dilation, and the urgent demands of a growing business made it necessary 
to add more of the latest improved machinery, and to provide these im- 
provements the capital was increased to $30,000. They have now in 
daily use a battery of three Mergenthaler type-setting machines, a Cox 
duplex Webb perfecting printing press and several job printing presses. 
"The Standard" is an eight-page daily paper, except the Saturday issue, 
which is a double sheet. They alsii publish the ''Richville Recorder" 
(weekly). The daily circulation of the paper is about 7,000. The semi- 
weekly circulation is about 5,000. They have a large advertising patron- 
age, both foreign and domestic. The present staff is composed of Frank 
W. Gallop, of Brooklyn, New York, as editor-in-chief; William H. 
Smith, city editor; D. C. Douglas, president of the company and local 
advertising manager ; Charles S. Adams, secretary and business man- 
ager, and Edw. N. Smith, treasurer and attorney. The paper is zealous 
in the advancement of progress and prosperity, and is a strong advocate 
of the principles of the Republican party. 

DR. CHARLES B. FORSYTH, an eminent medical practitioner 
of Alexandria Bay, Jefferson county. New York, and a graduate of 
Bellevue Hospital College, New York city, was born in the vicinity of 
Palermo, Oswego county, New York, May 19, 1876. 

The Forsyth is by origin a Gascon family, and dates back to the 
Roman period since the first Seigneur de Forsyth, Vicomte de Fronsac, 
and military governor of the Western District of France in 750 A. D., 
a son of Charlemagne, Emperor of Rome and King of the Franks. In 
1236 the Cadet de Forsyth accompanied the Princess Eleanor on her 
journey to England to become the wife of King Henry HL The descend- 
ants of the Cadet de Forsyth settled in Scotland, where they held valu- 
able estates and positions under the various monarchs for several centu- 
ries, David de Forsyth, Lord of Dykes in 1488. beiiag the last of the 
family to bear the ancient arms of the Seigneurs de Forsyth ^de Fron- 
sac). In the time of Robert Bruce, King of Scotland, Osbert, son of 
Robert de Forsyth, took rnilitary service of that monarch, and received 
from him a large grant of land in the sheriffdom of Stirling. He was 
the ancestor of all those who have a legitimate right to the name in Great 
Britain, Ireland and America. Among his immediate descendants were 
crown officers and members of parliament. In direct line of descent, 
Dr. Charles B. Forsyth is twelve generations removed from David de 
Forsyth, Lord of Dykes in 1571, and inherits the arms of Failzerton 



210 ^, GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

as well as the arms of the Forsyths, which are described : "Argent, 
a chevron, engi-ailed gtiles between three griffins, segreant, vert, armed 
and membered gules." The livery of the family is : Dark green trimmed 
with red. 

Jonathan Forsyth (great-grandfather) was a native of ]Massachu- 
setts. th.e date of his birth being June 25, 1781. He was a ship-builder 
by trade, and by assiduously following this occupation he was enabled 
to provide a comfortable home for his family, and a competence for his 
declining years. The entire period of his long and useful life was spent 
in the vicinity of his birthplace. He married Polly M. Buell, born March 
7, 1783, who bore him a large family of children, one of whom Dr. 
William B. Forsyth, is living at the present time (1904). 

William B. Forsyth (grandfather) was born in Terryton, Massa- 
chusetts, ^larch 4, 181 1. He was reared in his native town, and acquired 
a practical education in the common schools there. Upon attaining 
young manhood he removed to Jefferson county. New York, and subse- 
quently began the study of medicine. After securing his degree of Doc- 
tor of Medicine he began the active practice of his profession in Oswego 
county, New York, where he still resides and enjoys life, although in 
his ninety-fourth year. He enjoys the distinction of being the oldest 
practitioner in the county. He was an earnest student during all the 
years of his professional career, and ever kept in close touch with the 
most advanced thought along the line of his chosen profession. He 
built up a large patronage, and enjoyed an enviable reputation not only 
among the meml>ers of the medical fraternity, but also among his fellow 
citizens. His wife, Nancy (Warner) Forsyth, born October 9, 1812, 
and who died at the age of eighty-three years, after having spent sixty- 
two years of happy married life, bore him eliSven children, the following 
named being the survivors : Margaret, w-ife of Charles Chase, of 
Oswego, New York; William A.; Edwin J., mentioned hereinafter; 
Sherman B., a resident of Ithaca, New York ; Willis J., a resident of 
Syracuse, New York; Helen, wife of Gilbert Dutcher, of Oswego, New 
York; and Carrie, wife of Dr. A. M. Haven, of Oswego, New York. 

Edwin J. Forsyth (father) was born in Palermo, Oswego county, 
New York, August 7, 1847. His early years were spent in attendance 
at the common schools of the neighborhood, and assisting with the 
various duties of the farm. During those years he gained a practical 
knowledge of farming, which occupation he followed until 1890, when 
he removed to Watertown, New York, and accepted a position with 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 211 

the Watertown Carriage Company, serving in the capacity of super- 
intendent of the shipping department. He is an active and pubhc- 
spirited citizen, and has ever aided and advanced any enterprise intended 
to benefit his town and its people. He was united in marriage to Sarah 
(Rogers) Treadwell, born in Fairfield, Herkimer county, New York, 
a daughter of Orum and Belinda (Wood) Rogers. Her father was 
born June lo, 1810, and died in 1892, aged eighty-two years: her 
mother was born February 19, 1807. Sarah Rogers was born October 
13, 1836. She was one of four children, the others being Adelbert, a 
resident of Wisconsin; Caroline, deceased; and George Rogers, of 
Lone Pine, Wisconsin. Orum Rogers was born in Oneida county, 
New York, in 1810, was a farmer by occupation, and traced his ancestry 
back to John Rogers, who emigrated to this country in 1656. Belinda 
(Wood) Rogers, \vife of Orum Rogers, died at the age of sixty-three 
years. Mrs. Forsyth was the mother of two children — Elburton E., 
of Bridgeport, Connecticut, and George D., of Watertown, New York, 
by her first marriage to Lyman P. Treadwell. Two children were born 
to Mr. and Mrs. Forsyth, namely: William O.. a citizen of Water- 
town, and a machinist by trade ; and Dr. Charles B. Forsyth. Mr. and 
Mrs. Forsyth hold membership in the Congregational church, and Mr. 
Forsyth is an honored member of the Ancient Order of Foresters, of 
Watertown, New York. 

Dr. Charles B. Forsyth spent the early years of his life in the 
town of Mexico, Oswego county, and recei\'ed his preliminary educa- 
tion in its common schools. He then took up his residence in Water- 
town, attended high school, and at the same time studied medicine with 
Drs. J. D. and H. G. P. Spencer, of Watertown, sketches of whom 
appear elsewhere in this work. While a resident of Watertown, Dr. 
Forsyth was employed in the Woodruiif House Drug Store, and thereby 
acquired a thorough pharmaceutical education, which is a \-aluable aid 
to him in his chosen profession. He later matriculated in Bellevue Hos- 
pital College, New York city, from which institution he was graduated 
in 1898. During his residence in New York city he served on the staff 
of Bellevue Hospital, and the Lying-in-Hospital. After his graduation 
he established an office in Alexandria Bay, New York, and at once 
began to put to a practical test the theoretical knowledge he had gained 
during his years of study. His specialty is diseases of the nose and 
throat, for which branch of the profession he is eminently qualified, 
owing to his having taken special courses on those subjects. He now 



212 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

enjoys a large and select patronage, and has met with remarkable suc- 
cess in the treatment and diagnosis of disease. In addition to his private 
practice he serves as medical examiner for the Order of Modern Wood- 
men of America, and the Order oi the Maccabees, in both of which he 
holds membership, and for ten life insurance companies. He is a mem- 
ber of the Jefferson County Medical Society, and the New York State 
Medical Society. He holds membership in the Reformed church; is 
a Republican or Independent in politics ; and his fraternal relations are 
with the Order of Free and Accepted Masons, of Alexandria Bay; the, 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Anglers' Association. 

In 1899 Dr. Forsyth married Leta B. Kepler, a native of Alex- 
andria Bay. New York, daughter of John Kepler, and granddaughter 
of Amiel Kepler. The latter named was a native of the town of Le Ray, 
New York, his parents having been among the pioneer settlers. He 
took up his residence in the town of Alexandria Bay, New York, where 
he followed farming up to the year of his death. 1866, at the age of 
forty-six years. He married Rogenia Palmer, a native of Germany, 
who bore him seven children, six of whom are living : Peter, a resi- 
dent of Philadelphia, New Y'ork; Mary, wife of Watson Jones, of 
Alexandria Bay, New York; Ehzabeth, wife of Peter Schultz, both of 
whom are deceased ; William, a resident of \Vellesly Island ; Louis, who 
resides on the old homestead ; Addie, wife of William Knight, of Thou- 
sand Island Park; and John, father of Leta B. (Kepler) Forsyth. 
Rogenia (Palmer) Kepler, mother of these children, died at the age 
of sixty-five years. John Kepler was born in the town of Alexandria, 
,Decenfber 15, 1856. He received a common school education, and 
during the first eleven years of his business career he served as a steam- 
boat captain. In 1888 he established the Thousand Island Steam Bot- 
tling Works, of which he is the present proprietor. He has been the 
incumbent of various offices of trust and responsibility, namely : town 
elerk, trustee of the village, and trustee and president of the board of 
education. His wife, Charlotte (Ball) Kepler, daughter of Charles 
Ball, whsm he married in 1878, bore'him the following-named children : 
Henry Clay, Leta Belle, and Helen Nirone Kepler. 

WILLIAM EDWARD MILLER, of Alexandria Bay, New York, 
an author of exceptional literary ability, was born in Plessis. Jefferson 
county, New York, March 21, 1859. 

In 1873 he accompanied his parents to Alexandria Bay, having pre- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 213 

viously attended school at Plessis, where he is remembered as being re- 
tired in disposition. He developed a read}^ faciHty in acquiring any 
knowledge that related to language or literature, but mathematics he per- 
sistently eschewed. After attending school at Alexandria Bay he became 
a matriculate at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of the city of 
New York. But that was only a part of his education, for he had learned 
to see and think for himself, and as a natural sequence he became a suc- 
cessful writer, and his literary efforts bear evidence of an educated and 
liberal mind. He has never written over his own name, choosing seclu- 
sion rather than notoriety, using his literary ability as a means and not 
as an end. The love of literature inspired a desire to travel. He has 
visited the leading countries of the world — has literallv traveled "from 
Dan to Bersheeba." 

During his boyhood he assisted his father in the meat business, and 
while thus employed became thoroughly familiar with the details of that 
line of occupation, in which he has ever since been more or less closely 
engaged. During his lifetime he has witnessed wonderful changes at 
the Thousand Islands. He distinctly recalls the time when the summer 
cottagers could be counted on the fingers of one hand ; now they are al- 
most innumerable. He has taken an active part in the improvement of 
Alexandria Bay, developing various pieces of property, in and thereabout. 
He enjoys the acquaintance of a large number of the wealthy class of 
summer residents who yearly journey to Alexandria Bav. 

June 25, 1896, Mr. Miller married Elizabeth Cross-Wren, a lineal 
descendant of Sir Christopher Wren, born at Dromovane House, Bandon, 
Ireland. Their children are: Eileen Elizabeth, born No-^'ember 26, 1897; 
Christopher \^'■ren, born August 13. 1899. and Mae Patricia, bom May 
15, 1903. 

THE CLEVELAND FAMILY. Three volumes of genealogy of 
the Cleveland family have been published and a fourth is now being pre- 
pared, in which the faiaiily is traced back to Theorkil De Cleveland, of 
Cleveland, North Riding, Yorkshire. England, 1066, and from this 
point tradition traces the name back through various lines to Julius 
Caesar, B. C. 35, in a remarkably interesting manner, and connects the 
different branches of the family with some of the most important events 
that transpired during this one thousand years of history. It is needless 
to add that the family has a fine coat-of-arms, an accurate description 
of which is found in the first volume of the work. Years of labor and 



214 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

thousands of dollars have been spent to compile this Genealog}^ which 
contains the history in brief of a large number of men who have been 
prominent in civil, political, military and commercial circles throughout 
the United States for nearly two hundred years, including Grover Cleve- 
land, who served eight years as President of this great nation. 

(I) Moses Cleveland, the common ancestor of the Cleveland fam- 
ilv in America, came from Ipswich. Suffolk county, England, in 1635, 
when onlv a youth, with John A. Smitli. and landed at Plymouth, Mas- 
sachusetts. He was a native of Ipswich. Suffolk county, England, born 
in the year 1624. He married at Woburn. Massachusetts, September 26, 
1648, Ann Winne. who was born in either Wales or England, in 1626. 
Moses Cleveland died at Woburn, Massachusetts, January 9, 1701. 

(II) Edward Cleveland, son of Moses Cleveland, the pioneer an- 
cestor, was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, May 20, 1664. He married 
(first) in 1684, in Washington, Rhode Island. Deliverance Palmer, 
daughter of Benjamin Palmer. He married (second) Zerinah Church. 
His death occurred in Pomfret. Connecticut. August 26, 1746. 

(III) Isaac Cleveland, son of Edward Cleveland, was born in 
North Kingston. Rhode Island, about the year 1697. He married in 
Canterbury. Connecticut. November 20. 1719. Susanna Johnson, 
daughter of William and !Mary Johnson. 

(IV) Isaac Cleveland (2), son of Isaac Cleveland (i), was born 
in Canterbury, Connecticut, May 13, 1735. He was an active partici- 
pant in the Revolutionary war. He married (first) in March, 1754, 
Sarah De Castro, and for his second wife he married Mary Rich. His 
death occurred IMarch 19. 1819, at the advanced age of eight)^-four 
years. 

(V) Isaac Cleveland (3). son of Isaac Cleveland (2), was born 
January 22. 1755, in Connecticut. He enlisted and served during the 
Revolutionary war. He was among the first settlers in Jefferson county, 
New York, locating in Rutland, where he died on May 14, 1838. His 
wife. Mamie (Matthev.s) Cleveland, whom he married in 1779, was 
born June 4, 1760, and died in Rutland, New York, July 3, 1845. 

(VI) Harvey Cleveland, son of Isaac Cleveland (3). was born 
August 20, 1782. in New Hampshire or Connecticut. He was one of 
the early settlers of Jefferson county. New York, residing in the town 
of Rutland until the year 1833, at which time he removed to Hounds- 
field, where he resided until his death on December 24, 1862. He de- 
veloiied the first water power on the Black River and built the first dam 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 215 

at what is now tlie \illage of Black River. He participated in the war 
of 1812, was faitliful in tlie performance of his ckities, and during the 
entire perior of his service displayed both courage and bravery. At the 
battle of Sackets Harbor he lost an arm, for which he drew a pension un- 
til his death. When the Thirty-fifth and Ninety-fourth Regiments were 
mustered into service in the Civil war, Mr. Cleveland was an infirm and 
aged man, but the fire of patriotism still burned brightly. He was as- 
sisted by his son. Philander B. Cleveland, to the porch of his house, and 
as the troops marched li_\' he cheered them with all his strength and 
waved his stub of an arm. He was united in marriage to Relief Cross, 
who was born October 5, 1791. in Bennington, Vermont, and died May 
20, 1885. She was the daughter of Abel and Desire (Palmer) Cross, 
and by her marriage became the mother of the following named children : 
Vacah, Decastro, Isaac, Philander E., Jane S., Flora, Betsy, Isaac H., 
and Christina Cleveland. 

(VII) Philander B. Cleveland, son of Harvey Cleveland, w-as born 
August 29, 1823. in Rutland, JefYerson county, New York. In 1833, 
when ten years of age, he came with his parents to East Houndsfield, 
where he received a common school education. Later he became one of 
the most successful and prosperous farmers of the town, as well as one 
of the most highly respected residents. On October 2, 1848, he married 
Mercy Richardson, who was born March 11, 1831, in Stowell Corners, 
Houndsfield, New York, daughter of Stephen Richardson, who was born 
in New Hampshire, April 15, 1795, and came to New York state at the 
age of nineteen years. Later he was a pioneer settler of Houndsfield, 
where he successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits. He served in 
the war of 1812. He married Lydia Benjamin, daughter of Jonas Ben- 
jamin, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and they were the 
parents of the following named children : Edmund, Jonas, Nancy, Dor- 
othy, Lucy, Mercy, aforementioned as the wife of Philander B. Cleve- 
land ; and Alvira Richardson. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Cleveland, four of whom are now- living: Merritt A., a resident of 
Brockport, New York; Milo L., Stephen R., of Watertown, New York; 
and Flora, who now resides on the old homestead in Houndsfield, New 
York. Philander B. Cleveland died February 24, 1895, in the seventy- 
third year of his age. and his wife, Mercy (Richardson) Cleveland, 
passed away August 31, 1899, at the home now occupied by her daugh- 
ter. Their remains are interred in the Brookside Cemetery, Water- 
• town. New York. Mrs. Cleveland was a woman of most exemplary 



216 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

cliaracter. and her death was sincerely mourned by her children, se\'en 
grandchildren, relatives, and by a large circle of friends and neighbors. 

STEPHEN R. CLE\'ELAND. tlie well known contractor, of Wa- 
tertown. New York, who has won an honorable and prominent position 
in business circles, was born in East Houndsfield. Jefferson county, New 
York, May 29. 1854. a son of Philander B. and Mercy (Richardson) 
Cleveland. 

The earlv rears of his life were spent in his native town, and his 
educational advantages were obtained in the public schools of that town 
and in Watertown. After laying aside his school books he entered the 
employ of Hunter, Murray & Cleveland, in 1877, the latter named part- 
ner being his eldest brother, Merritt A. Cleveland, who had some years 
before formed a partnership for conducting contracting business upon 
a gigantic scale, principally the construction of canals and railroads. At 
the time when Stephen R. became an employe of the firm the Welland 
Canal was being enlarged, and he was given the position of paymaster, 
at the same time familiarizing himself with the details of the work, and 
remaining there until the completion of the contract, a period of five 
years. He then went to Ohio, where the firm was constructing the Pitts- 
burg. Cleveland & Toledo Railroad, where he acted as paymaster for 
eighteen months, and at the expiration of this period of time returned 
to the Welland canal, where he occupied the same position for two years, 
since which time he has been associated with his brothers in the same 
position. During this time he has acted as paymaster on the St. Law- 
rence Canal, and the improvement on the St. Lawrence River, this being 
his portion of the work of the firm. They are probably the largest con- 
tractors in canal and railroad work in the United States or Canada, giv- 
ing employment at times to one thousand men. In 1884. upon his return 
to Watertown. Mr. Cleveland purchased land on Ten Eyke street and 
built his beautiful home, one of the most cheerful in the city, .where the 
stranger is always cordially welcomed, and here the family reside during 
the winter, but their summers are spent in Prescott. Canada, near the 
plant. Mr. Cleveland is a director in the Eager Electric Company, of 
Watertown, and in addition to his other enterprises is the owner of a 
fine stock farm of three hundred acres, where he makes a specialty of 
breeding short horned cattle, and in which he takes a great interest. He 
is a member of McNabb Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Port, Col- 
burn, Canada, in which he is past master; he is also connected with Chap- 
ter No. 59. R. A. ]M., the Council. Commandery No. n, R. T., of Wa- ' 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 217 

tertown, the Lodge of Terfection and Scottish Rite bodies up to the 
thirty-second degree, all of Watertown, New York; Media Temple, Mys- 
tic Shrine: and is a member of the Union Club and Lincoln League of 
Watertown. He is a staunch Republican in his political views, and while 
not aspiring for office is now serving as water commissioner. 

On May 26, 1881, Mr. Cle\eland married Emma C. Baker, born in 
Watertown, New York, daughter of E. Collins and Sarah (Barlow) 
Baker, and two children ha\e been l)orn of this marriage : Korleen, who 
graduated from the \Vatertown High School, and is now a student in 
the National Park Seminary at Washington, D. C, class of 1905. Lou 
Baker, also a graduate from the Watertown High School and now a 
student in Cornell University, pursuing a course in ci\'il engineering, 
class of 1907. 

Mrs. Cleveland's family, like that of her husband, have occupied a 
place of honor in the history of the country, her great-grandfather hav- 
ing participated in the Revolutionary v\ar, her grandfather served in the 
war of 1812, and she is a member of the Daughters of the American 
Revolution, in which society she has taken an active part. Her father, 
E. Collins Baker, now deceased, was a prosperous farmer of Watertown, 
and he and his wife, Sarah (Barlow) Baker, who was born in Water- 
town, New York, were the parents of three children : Mrs. C. G. Bald- 
win, of Watertown, whose husband, now deceased, was for many years 
connected with the Watertown Times; Mrs. Cleveland, wife of Stephen 
R. Cleveland ; and Mrs. C. G. Comstock, a resident of Watertown, with 
whom Mrs. Baker makes her home. Mr. Cleveland and his family 
are members of the Universalist church, he being also one of the mem- 
bers of the board of trustees. 

MILO L. CLEVELAND, the well known contractor, and one of 
the most valued citizens of Watertown, New York, was born in East 
Houndsfield, Jefferson county, New York, July 4. 185 1, a son of Phil- 
ander B. and Mercy (Richardson) Cleveland. 

He obtained his education in the schools of Watertown, and at the 
age of eighteen began learning the trade of carpenter, teaching school 
during the winter months. In 1871 he engaged with the engineer corps 
on the Carthage, Watertown & Sackets Harbor Railroad. In 1872 he 
took a position with the engineer corps on the Kingston & Pembroke 
Railroad, and remained one year, when he became sub-contractor on this 
road, which position he occupied until the fall df 1874. In 187=; he was 
a contractor on the Lake Ontario Shore Railroad, where he built four- 



218 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

teen miles of road. Jn 1876 and 1877 he was on tlie Kingston & Pem- 
broke Railroad as a contractor; in 1878 and 1879 at Port Colburn, on 
the W'clland Canal. Jn 1880 he built a branch railroad from Lewiston 
Junction to Suspension Bridge, New York, and did a great deal of con- 
tract work for private corporations in and about Watertown, New York, 
in the building of bulkheads and repairing the same. He also built a 
stone arch bridge at Antw erp, New York, also the C. R. Remington pa- 
per mill at \\'atertown. New York. In 1881 he built the Watertown 
waterworks. In 1882 he did some very fine work in the building of 
two stone arch bridges — one at Madrid, St. Lawrence county. New 
York, and the other at Louisville, St. Lawrence county. New York. 

In 1883 he went to Youngstown. Ohio, and in connection wnth his 
brother, Merritt A. Cleveland, built one hundred miles of the Pittsburg, 
Cleveland & Toledo Railroad, and during the years 1884 to 1887 was 
engaged in contract work in the city of Watertown and along Block 
River in building bridges, stone buildings and similar work. In 1887 
he went to Port Dalhousie, Canada, where he was engaged on canal 
work. In 1888 he returned to Watertow'n and laid the foundation and 
built the large mills of the Ontario Paper Company ; also piers and abut- 
ments for some of the finest bridges in northern New York. In 1890 
and 1 89 1 he superintended the building of the Watertown postoffice for 
the United States government. In 1892 he spent the year in California 
on business for a number of eastern parties. In 1893 '''^ built the High 
Falls pulp mill, four arch bridges in the towns of Limerick and Water- 
town, and in 1894 built the large stone bulkhead and flume for Taggart 
Bros.' paper mill. In 1894 and 1895 he built the sulphite mill at Dexter, 
New York, and did a large amount of other contracting. In the latter 
part of 1897 he began work on the North Channel with his brother, Mer- 
ritt A. Cleveland and S. R. Cleveland for the Canadian government. 
They are by far the largest contractors for government work in the coun- 
tr}-, employing at times as many as one thousand skilled mechanics and 
laborers. Mr. Cleveland has been engaged in contracting since attain- 
ing the age of twenty-three years, and is now the senior member of the 
firm of Cleveland & Ogsbury, dealers in coal, wood and cement. Water- 
town, New York. 

Milo L. Cleveland married, December 4, 1874, Lucy D. Warren, 
born in East Houndsfield, New York, daughter of Charles and Lydia 
(Holloway) Warren. Her father was a foreman on pulilic works, and 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 210 

followed that work until his death. She was one of three children, of 
whom Fred and George are deceased. 

Mr. and Mrs. Milo Cleveland are the parents of one child, Caroline 
Mercy, born July 15, 1877, who married in June, 1898, Arthur Ives, 
proprietor of the Watertown Business College. ]\Ir. and Mrs. Ives are 
the parents of one child. Merle G., born August 11, 1902. 

In politics Mr. Cleveland affiliates with the Republicans, and that 
he possesses in a high degree the esteem and confidence of his towns- 
men is evidenced by the fact that he held the office of highway commis- 
sioner of Watertown for three years, 1893 to 1895, and was later elected 
supervisor of the town for two years, 1896-1897. He has taken an active 
part and interest in the Masonic bodies, having been a member of Brown- 
ville Lodge No. 53, in which he filled all the chairs and was master for 
several years, also a member of Watertown Chapter No. 59, R. A. M., 
Watertown Commandery No. 11, Knights Templar, the Lodge of Perfec- 
tion and Media Temple of the !^Iystic Shrine. 

JOHN T. DELz\NY, attorney and counselor at law in Alexandria 
Bay. New York, was born on the Atlantic ocean, August 11, 1849. ^^^ 
father, Marcus Delany, and Mary (Dunn), his wife, were natives of 
Queens county, Ireland, and the subject of this sketch was born during 
a protracted voyage of his parents from their native home to America 
in a sailing ship. 

Marcus Delany, who had been educated in private schools in Ireland, 
and who in early manhood had learned the trade of mason and plasterer, 
selected for his home in the new world Clayton, Jefferson county. New 
York. There he worked at his trade and as day laborer. He soon pur- 
chased a tract of land at that time covered with a dense growth of timber. 
His family consisted of seven children — James and Marcus, now pros- 
perous farmers in Clayton: Mary, now in business in Rochester, New 
York; John T., the subject of this sketch; and William, Patrick and 
i\nne, now deceased. With hard labor at his trade and on his farm, and 
with the assistance of his wife and children, Marcus Delany converted his 
one hundred acres of wilderness into a productive farm, giving his chil- 
dren in the meantime such education as the common schools of his local- 
ity afforded. He was a man of broad sympathies, a good education, a 
Catholic in religion, and a Democrat in politics. Both himself and wife 
lived past the age of eighty years, and in their declining years had the 
happiness of seeing their life work successful. 



220 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Tohn T. Delany was educated in the common schools of his home 
district, and later at the high school in Clayton, at Union Academy, Bell- 
ville. New York, and at Watertown High School where he enjoyed the 
instruction of Professor Horace Otis in mathematics and sciences, and of 
the late Hannibal Smith in languages, history, civics and law. He is also 
a graduate of the Rochester Business University. He began his life 
work as a teacher in the fall of 1867, continued for a time to teach in the 
rural districts, and later was principal of the village schools at Depau- 
ville, Philadelphia, Three Mile Bay. Chaumont, and Redwood, doing his 
last teaching in the city of Watertown. Mr. Delany was a well known 
and veiy successful teacher. Perhaps no man in Jefferson county has 
been so instrumental in starting young men and women as teachers and 
in other lines of intellectual life work. 

In 1897 Mr. Delany closed his career as teacher, and began the 
study of law. From early manhood it had been his ambition to be a law- 
yer. Now, having time and ability to pursue his favorite work, he be- 
gun the study in earnest, at first as a clerk in the law office of his for- 
mer teacher, Hon. Hannibal Smith, and later with Hon. J. F. LaRue, of 
Philadelphia, New York. After passing successfully the bar examina- 
tion at Rochester, New York, he was admitted to the bar in March, 1901. 
He soon after opened a law office in Alexandria Bay, New York, being 
the first lawyer to locate permanently in that village. 

In politics. Mr. Delany is a Democrat, and a stanch advocate of the 
principles of his part}'. When a young man he was a candidate for the 
office of school commissioner in the third district of Jefferson county, and, 
although that county is strongly Republican, he was defeated by a plural- 
ity of only twenty votes. He was member of the board of supervisors 
from the town of Lyme, having been elected while teaching at Chau- 
mont in the years 1886 and 1888. 

In 1880 John T. Delany married Jennie M. White, a daughter of 
George G. White, of Philadelphia, New York. Two children were born 
to them — John Emmett, and Henrietta Georgia, the latter of whom only 
is living, and who is making her way through the schools of her home 
village, her plan being to get such a comprehensive and practical educa- 
tion as can be had in the schools of the Empire State. 

The subject of this sketch demonstrates to all people ambitious of 
success in their chosen line of usefulness, that it is never too late to begin, 
and that with perseverance the}- are sure to win. The indications now 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 221 

are that Air. Delany -will add to a very successful life as teacher, tlie 
honor of a very successful business man and lawyer. 

HENRY BARNARD LEAK. Every civilized community is 
largely dependent upon its business men, not only for the influx and 
continuity of material prosperity, but also for the maintenance of those 
institutions and the advancement of those projects essential to the well- 
being of society and tire promotion of the general good. A worthy 
representative of the class of business men who never fail to respond 
ably and fully to the demands and responsibilities incident to their po- 
sition is found in Henry B. Leak, of Watertown. Mr. Leak belongs to 
a Canadian family of English origin, and in this case, as well as in 
many others of the men that came to this country nearly a century ago, 
very little can be learned of their antecedents. 

John Leak, the grandfather of H. B. Leak, moved from the south 
of England (or Wales, not certainly known now) and settled in North 
Dalton, a small town not far from the city of Leeds, in Yorkshire, Eng- 
land, about the year 1775, and there engaged in market gardening. On 
the homestead there made, his family of four children was born. There 
he died September 10, 1856, at the ripe old age of ninety-three years. 
He was well known and much respected in the community in which he 
lived. His wife died some years before him. 

John Leak, son of John Leak, was born August 29, 1805, on the 
parental homestead at North Dalton, where he obtained his education 
and engaged in farming. At the age of thirty years he came to the 
United States and settled in Genesee county, this state, where he be- 
came a teamster and farmer. After a time he went to Michigan, and 
later made his home on a farm near Chatham, Ontario, where he passed 
the remainder of his life. He possessed the esteem and cordial liking 
of his neighbors, by whom he was elected to many offices of trust, 
among them those of assessor and township collector. He was an 
officer in the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he and his wife 
were members. The latter was Jaae Catton, who was born in 1815, 
in Yorkshire, England, and was brought by an uncle to this country. 
Mr. and Mrs. Leak were the parents of the following children : Will- 
iam, who is a carpenter in Chatham, Canada; Mary, who married 
Henry Weese, and resides in the same place; Henry B., mentioned at 
length, hereinafter; James, also a resident of Chatham; Eliza, who 
became the wife of Andrew Robinson, and now lives in Kalamazoo, 



222 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Michigan ; John T. Leak, who conducts a fm-niture business at Kala- 
mazoo ; and EHzabeth, deceased. The mother of these children died 
in 1878, on the old homestead near Chatham, where her husband also 
passed away, at the advanced age of eighty-eight years. 

Henry B. Leak, son of John and Jane (Catton) Leak, was born 
January 19, 1846. on his father's farm in Kent county, Ontario, and 
received his education in the schools of the neighborhood. In the year 
1862, he commenced to learn the blacksmith's trade, which he followed 
for fifteen years in his native place, and then went to St. Thomas, Can- 
ada, as foreman in a carriage shop, where he remained three years. 
He then entered the service of the Canada Carriage Company of To- 
ronto, holding for two years the position of superintendent. In 1887 
he came to Watertown and became foreman in the blacksmith shop of 
the Watertown Carriage Company, where he remained two years. Upon 
the organization of the Excelsior Carriage Company, Mr. Leak became 
a stockholder and superintendent, and all the machinery, which was 
of the latest and most improved kind, was purchased and put in under 
his direction. The company was organized with a capital of $50,000, 
all paid in. Mr. Leak has had the superintendence of the factory since 
its organization, employing about one hundred men, the factory being 
one of the largest in the country and one of the most prosperous in 
Watertown. The company has a very extensive trade with all the New 
England states, the flourishing condition of the business being largely 
the result of the unwearied application and able management of Mr. 
Leak. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, affiliating with Water- 
town Lodge No. .\g, of Watertown. Politically he is a Republican, 
and takes an active part in the afifairs of the organization. He is a 
member of the Baptist church, in which he has held various offices, 
among them that of trustee, which he still retains, and is also a mem- 
ber of numerous committees. 

Mr. Leak married December 24, 1868, Jane A, Floeter. a native 
of Amherstburg, Canada, of German descent, and they have four chil- 
dren : T, George Franklin, who is a dry goods merchant at Gouverneur, 
and who married Miss Gertrude Carter, of Watertown ; 2, Birdie Floe- 
ter, who resides at home, 50 Academy street; 3, Roy Leighton, who 
graduated from the Watertown high school, class of '94, studied medi- 
cine with Dr. F. H. Calkins, of Watertown, and received from Albany 
Medical College the degree of Doctor of Medicine, in 1898, and soon 
accepted an appointment to the medical staff of the St. Lawrence State 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 223 

Hospital in Ogdensburg ; he married. December 15, 1903, Miss Bertha 
Sweet, of Watertown, the occasion being one of the social events of 
the season; 4, William Henry, a dentist, who graduated in 1902, in 
Buffalo, New York, and is now practicing in Watertown. 

Mrs. Leak is a daughter of William Floeter, who was born in 
1819, and was a contractor, carpenter and joiner in Chatham, Canada. 
He married Eliza Gonne, who was born in 1829, in Montreal, Canada, 
and the following children were born to them : Jane A., who was born 
in 1848, in Amherstburg, and became the wife of Henry B. Leak, as 
mentioned above; Malisa, who married Dr. James McKarracher, of Bay 
City, Michigan ; Sidney, who is superintendent of the Cincinnati, Ham- 
ilton & Dayton Railroad, in Lima, Ohio ; George A., who is in business 
in Toledo, Ohio; Minnie, who is the wife of James Whitman, of De- 
troit, Michigan; Carrie, who married Minor Weigle, of Toledo. Ohio; 
and \A"illiam, who is a merchant and farmer in Michigan. The death of 
Mr. Floeter, the father of the family, occurred in 1876, and his wife 
passed away at Christmas, 1893. Both possessed the sincere respect and 
affection of all who knew them. 

MORGAN KLOCK, a highly respected farmer of Watertown, 
New York, was born near St. Johnsville, Montgomery county, New 
York, April 13, 1834. His paternal grandfather, George G. I. Klock, 
was also a native of that county, born in 1770, and his early years were 
there passed, while m the public schools of the neighborhood he acquired 
his education. Later he engaged in farming in the old home neighbor- 
hood for a long period, but his last years were passed in Watertown. 
where he died after reaching the eightieth milestone on life's journey. 
His wife bore the maiden name of Harriet Goodale. and they were the 
parents of four children, of whom but one is now living. Polly, who 
became the wife of Arlie Klock, and resides in St. Johnsville, New- 
York. Mrs. Harriet Goodale Klock passed away at the age of eighty 
years. 

Stephen Klock, son of George G. I. Klock. who was born in Mont- 
gomery county in 1802, and was there reared and educated, after- 
ward removed to Lyme, New York, where he remained until 1859. In 
that year he settled on a farm of two hundred acres on Washington 
street, near Watertown, and continued the cultivation of his land until 
his death, which occurred on the 20th of May. 1878. when he was 
sixty-five years of age. His political support was given to the Demo- 



224 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

cratic party, and he was a niember of the Masonic fraternity, with 
which his father also affiHated. He married Anna BelHnger, who was 
born in St. Jolmsville, Montgomery county, New York, and was a 
daughter of John F. Bellinger. Her father was a farmer who spent 
his entire life in Montgomery county, and died there at the age of 
eighty years. Mrs. Klock also passed away at the age of four score 
years, and, like her husband, she was a member of the Presbyterian 
church. They were the parents of six children, of whom four are now 
living: Morgan; LoA'ina, the wife of Albert Peck, of Watertown; Mil- 
ton R., of Watertown; and Sephanna, who married Joshua Flanders, 
of Rodman, New York. 

Morgan Klock spent his early years in Lyme, and when he had 
completed a common school course he continued to render assistance to 
his father in the work on the home farm until twenty-five years of age. 
Thereafter he engaged in the operation of the old homestead for eight 
years, and then came to Watertown, where he purchased his present 
farm, then comprising one hundred and twenty-seven acres, and, with 
the exception of three years passed in the city, he has resided thereon 
continuously since. He also owns a farm of two hundred and ten 
acres in Le Ray. He has an excellent set of- buildings upon the farm 
which he occupies, and for many years he conducted buiiness as a retail 
milk dealer. His agricultural interests have been capably conducted along 
modern business lines, and have resulted in bringing to him creditable 
and gratifying success. He has sold most of the home place for park 
purposes, and now owns one hundred acres near by, ori Washington 
street. His political support is given to the Democracy, and he attends 
the First Presbyterian church. 

In 1857 Mr. Klock married Catherine J. Baird, who was born in 
Charlestown, Montgomery county, New York, in 183S. Her father, 
Robert Baird, was for many years engaged in farming in Lyme, New 
YorR, and died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Klock, when seventy- 
five years of age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Eunice Mc- 
Duffee, was born in 1810, and was reared in Charlestown. She died at 
the age of eighty years. Of her four children only one is now living: 
Anna E., wife of Lester C. Angell, of Three Mile Bay. 

Mr. and Mrs. Klock were the parents of three children, of whom 
two are living. The daughter, Carrie K., is the wife of Sterling A. Sill, 
of Watertown, New York, and they have five children — Frederick W., 
Allen P., John M., Kate W., and Carrie E. Percy L.. son of Morgan 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 226 

Klock, is a graduate of Hamilton College, and for a number of years 
engaged in teaching as principal in Richfield and Saratoga. He is now 
a practicing lawyer of New York city. He married Miss Kate Thom- 
son, of Oswego, New York. Morgan Klock lost one son, Fred G. Klock,. 
who died in 1897, at the age of thirty-four years. He had been liberally 
educated, and was general manager of the firm of Farwell & Rhines. He 
married Miss Grace Becker, of Pulaski, New York, who is now residing 
in Watertown, with her four children, George, Morgan, Eunice and 
Catherine. Mr. Klock lost his first wife in 1902, her death occurring on 
the 20th of July, of that year, when she was sixty-three years of age. 
She was a member of the First Presbyterian church. Mr. Klock was 
married November 24, 1903, to Mrs. Celesta Peck, who was born in Ful- 
ton county. New York, but lived in Montgomery county up to the time 
of her marriage to ]\Ir. Klock. 

PHILIP RILEY. One of Watertown's best known and most 
respected citizens is Philip Riley, whose father, John Riley, was a native 
of Dublin, Ireland, and came tO' the United States about the year 1830, 
being then eighteen years of age. He settled in Jefferson county, where 
he obtained work in a Brownville foundry and in the course of time 
became a farmer in Boylston, Oswego county. He married Annie Nugent 
and they were the parents of seven children, five of wliom are living. 
Mrs. Riley died in 188 1 at the age of seventy years, and her husband 
survived her but one year, passing away in 1882, aged seventy-four. 
Both led good and useful lives and were regarded with respect and 
affection by all who knew them. 

Philip Riley, son of John and Annie (Nugent) Riley, was born 
April 20, 1836, in Brownville, New York, and was educated in the 
common schools. He learned the miller's trade, beginning at the age 
of twenty years and continuing eight years, in Brownville and Water- 
town. For about six years he was employed by Samuel Clark, in the 
latter place. In May, 1874, he began working for Richard Marcy, a 
coal dealer, with whom he continued seven years as an employe. In 1891 
the present firm of Marcy, Buck & Riley was formed, the third member 
being R. J. Buck. The business carried on by the firm is both wholesale 
and retail. Its yearly sales of hard coal amount to 25,000 tons and its 
soft coal is in demand for consumption in mills tO' the amount of from 
40,000 to 50,000 tons. Mr. Riley is active in the duties of citizenship 
and possesses the fullest confidence and esteem of his townsmen, who 



226 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

liave frequently called upon him to represent them in offices of trust and 
responsibility. In 1874 he was collector for the first ward and has been 
elected alderman from this ward no fewer than three times. He is a 
charter member of the Lincoln League, which stamps him as a Repub- 
lican, and is a member of Watertown City Lodge No. 291, Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows. 

Mr. Riley married, in 1859, May Ledger, a native of Oneida county, 
daughter of George Ledger. They had no children. This union, which 
was of nearly forty years' duration, was terminated in 1897 by the death 
of Mrs. Riley, who was greatly beloved by a large circle of friends. In 
addition to the respect inspired by Mr. Riley's honorable dealing as a 
business man and conscientious discharge of duty as a citizen the cordial 
regard called forth by his attracti\-e personality renders him one of our 
most popular residents. 

JUDGE JOSEPH A. McCONXELL. of Watertown, belongs to 
that large class of successful men. styled self-made. who. having risen 
from the humblest l>eginnings to positions of affluence and importance, 
are the bone and sinew of modern commercial life. But these men 
almost universally come of a clean and strong ancestry, and are the 
inheritors ol a robust native talent, that is best developed in hard expe- 
rience. 

James A., the father of Judge McConnell. was born in Greece, the 
son of James McConnell, a Scottish officer in the English army. He 
came to the United Slates in early life, and in 1840 he went to Water- 
town. He was a tailor, a skilled workman, and a thoroughly estimable 
man. He married Jane Thompson, a native of county Armagh, Ireland, 
of Scotch-Irish ancestry. Four children, tliree daughters and a son, 
were born to the couple, and in 1858, when the son was but two years 
old, the father died. The support of the young famih- fell upon I\Irs. 
McConnell, and her unfailing cheer and hopefulness and dignity dur- 
ing the years of her struggle are the cherished memories of her chil- 
dren. Through her work as a dressmaker and tailoress she gave her 
children the necessities and many of the advantages of life, and was 
to them an example of courage and self-reliance. 

Joseph A. McConnell was born in Watertown. January 14, 1856. 
His early education in the public schools of ^^'atertown, where he was 
graduated from the high, school, fitted him to enter Hamilton College. 
He w^as graduated from Hamilton in 1878. and began to read law with 




O^ C^ 'if^'-iyUjL. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 227 

Charles A. Sherman, continuing with the firm of Sherman and Purcell. 
He was admitted to the l>ar m 1881, and soon began practice in Water- 
town. From 1887 to 1889 he was associated witli Frank H. Pecl<. 
He has a general law practice, and has gained a large clientage. In 
1885 he was elected recorder of the city, and was re-elected at the 
expiration of the term of four years. In 1892 he refused a renomina- 
tion for the office. In 1897 the city charter was changed, abolishing 
the offices of recorder and justices of the peace, and establishing a city 
court, having civil and criminal jurisdiction. Mr. McConnell was nom- 
inated for city judge in that year on the Democratic ticket, and elected 
by a large majority. He is a member of the Union and Jeffersonian 
clubs, and has attained high degrees in the, Masonic order. He is past 
potentate of Media Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and has juris- 
diction over the six hundred seventy-five nobles of Lewis, St. Lawrence. 
Oswego and Jefferson counties. He is a member of Watertown Lodge 
No. 496 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and is past 
exalted ruler. 

His wile was Sarah A. Davis, daughter of Norman Da^-is of 
Watertown. They were married April 26, 1891, and are the parents of 
three children : Florence L., Josephine A., and James .\. 

AI ]\IcBRIDE. A story of most pathetic interest is that attach- 
ing to the name of Ai McBride, of Jefferson county. New York, who 
gave up his hfe for his country during the great Civil war. Nor can the 
narrative be written without pa}-ing tribute to the devoted woman who 
was the bride of his youth, and who, with undying affection for him, 
was for forty years an anxious searcher for his far distant gra\-e, a 
search which, it is wonderful to relate, was finally rewarded with suc- 
cess. 

Ai McBride was born at Black River, Jefferson county, October 25, 
1836, a son of James and Keziah (Royce) McBride. both natives of 
Lewis county, New York, the former born in Saratoga, August 29, 1801, 
and the latter in Champion, March 13, 1806. James McBride was a 
farmer, and during the latter part of his life lived near Watertown, where 
he died September 8, 1877; his wife died June 11, 1889, at the age of 
eighty-three years. They were the parents of eight children, of whom 
three are living: Erastus; Joel; Ai, subject of this sketch; Mary A.; 
Henry; William, a farmer, of Watertown Center, New York; Cornelia, 
wife of George Shaw, also a farmer, and of the same place ; Julia Ann, 



228 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

wife of Albert Woodard, of Stockton, Chautauqua county, New York. 
James McBride, father of James McBride, the emigrant, was born in 
Ireland, and came to this country, locating in Lewis county, New York, 
where he lived the life of a farmer, and died when over eighty years of 
age. 

Ai McBride was reared on the parental farm at Black River, and 
was educated in common and select schools. He married, October 12, 
1854, Miss Ellen Johnston. Mr. McBride was a farmer, and followed 
this occupation with industry and enthusiasm, and was held in high 
esteem for his manly character. In the first year of the rebellion (1861) 
his ardent patriotism moved him to offer his services to his country, 
and he enlisted in Captain Lafayette Little's Company ( i ) of the Thirty- 
fifth Regiment New York Volunteers. This was known as the Jefferson 
County Regiment, and, to Cjuote an annalist of that day, was a notable 
command, containing "the fiower and youth" of the county. To judge 
from Ai McBride, the encomium was well merited. He was in the 
prime of his life, twenty-five years of age. and he made great sacrifices 
in the discharge of his patriotic duty, for he must leave behind him a wife 
and two children of tender age. In the arduous service to which the 
regiment was called, Ai McBride performed the full duty of a soldier, 
with courage, punctuality, and unmurmuringly. At Arlington Heights, 
Virginia, under the direction of the regular army engineering oflicers, the 
regiment performed severe labor in the construction of forts, of abattis 
in its front, and the connecting rifle pits. Later the regnnent was posted 
at Taylor's Tavern, where it performed similar work, besides doing in- 
cessant picket duty. From March to August, 1862, the regiment partici- 
pated in a series of wearisome marches over almost impassable roads, 
and in numerous skirmishes, and sustaining severe losses from exhaus- 
tion. At Rappahaimock Station, August 21, 1862, it supported Battery 
L, First New York Artillery, and was subjected to a .galling fire, and 
at the battle of Warrenton Springs. August 26th, it was under the fire 
of both artillery and musketry. It fought at Gainesville, August 28th, 
and at Groveton, August 29th. In the memorable second battle of Bull 
Run, on the first day it lost nine men killed and thirteen wounded, and 
suffered a further loss of five killed and eight wounded from the guns of 
tlie Twenty-third Regiment, which fired into it by mistake. On the 
second day the regiment lost seventy-two men killed and wounded. The 
regiment also took part in the battle of Chantilly, the battle of South 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 2^9 

JMountain, September 14th, in which it lost nineteen men killed and 
wounded, and the terrible battle of Antietam. 

One of the participants in the long marches, the drear\- night watches 
and the dreadful battle fields, told of in the preceding narrative, who suc- 
cumbed to the fearful phj-sical and mental strain, was Ai McBride. Tak- 
en with typhoid fever, he was sent to Emery Hospital, at Alexandria. 
For a time he was hopeful of recovery, and he wrote cheering letters to 
his anxious wife. The sad end came on October 6, 1862, when he passed 
away, holding in his hand, its seal unbroken, the last letter from his 
wife, and which came too late for his glazing e3'es to decipher. The 
fateful news was conveyed to the stricken family with all possible gentle- 
ness by Chaplain J. S. Morgan, and the sorrow stricken widow set her- 
self tearfully and with crushed heart but with resolute courage to the 
task of providing for her little ones. 

J\Irs. McBride addressed the hospital authorities, seeking more ex- 
plicit information, especially as to the burial place of her husband, but 
without avail. The hospitals were filled to overflowing w ith the wounded 
from many great battle fields, and interments were made with such haste 
and in such great numbers that records became confused, and hospital 
attendants were too overpressed with work to give answer to enquiries, 
and Mrs. McBride could gain no information as to that which she sought. 
After a time there was sent to Black River the body of a dead soldier who 
was a stranger to all in the village, and which was sent as that of Hewlit 
Comins, who had been there reared and was known to all. Thus led to 
conjecture that the body of her husband had been sent by mistake to 
some other part of the country, Mrs. JNIcBride redoubled her efforts to 
discover its resting place. At last, in the summer of 1902, her pathetic 
search was rewarded. Being present at the national encampment of the 
Grand Army of the Republic in Washington City, she paid visits to vari- 
ous military cemeteries and industriously searched their records. Final- 
])-, on the books in the War and Navy departments in Washington, she 
found what she sought — the name of Ai McBride, his personal descrip- 
tion, and the number of his grave in the cemetery of th.e National Sol- 
diers' Home. She soon found the spot, only a few feet from the grave of 
General Logan, where had lain for forty years the body of her young 
husband and the father of her children. The little headstone bore his 
name and the date of his death. It were too solemn a scene to attempt 
to depict, that of the long widowed woman kneeling at the little mound, 
and yet it may not go unspoken of, for it is eloquent in its suggestion of 



230 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

the heroic sacrifices made by the loyal women of America during' the dread 
days of the nation's struggle, albeit no other such supreme example has 
ever come to the knowledge of the writer of this narrative. 

Airs. McBride next sought the property room of the cemetery, 
where she found carefully preserved every article of the last belongings 
of her soldier husband, including the letters which she had written to 
liim during his long absence from home, down to her very last, which his 
dimming eyes could not read. 

Airs. Ai McBride was in her maidenhood Miss Ellen Johnston. She 
was born in Copenhagen, New York, October ii, 1836. Her parents, 
Archibald and Ellen (Potter) Johnston, were natives of Scotland, who 
immediately after their marriage came to Montreal, Canada, but soon 
left that city on account of cholera there raging, and came to Copenhagen. 
Mr. Johnston was a rope maker, and after working at his trade for a 
time he built a rope walk of his own which he successfully conducted 
until his death, at the age of seventy-seven years, his wife surviving him 
and dying at the age of eighty years. They were an estimable pair, and 
exemplary Christians, mem.bers of the Congregational church. They 
were the parents of four daughters and two sons, the latter being Mrs. 
Charles Read, of Copenhagen, and Mrs. Ai McBride. 

Mrs. McBride as a girl received her education in common and select 
schools in her native village. For two years prior to her marriage she 
was a teacher in Black River, and rendered most useful service. She be- 
came the mother of three children, two of whom are living: C. I. Clin- 
ton, foreman in the Howard Furance and Hot Water Heater establish- 
ment, of Syracuse, New York ; he married Mary A. Gardinier, and their 
children are i\rthur R., Lizzie A., Florence E., and Floyd R. McBride; 
Jennie E.. who became the wife of William Reddick, and who make 
their home with Mrs. McBride. Mr. Reddick was born in Greenville, 
and came to Watertown in i8gg; he is a machine tender in a paper mill, 
and is a member of the Knights of Pythias. A daughter of Mrs. Mc- 
Bride. Clara A., became the wife of John F. Alitchell. of Copenhagen, 
and died in 1886 at the age of twenty-eight years. 

As the result of almost superhuman effort. Airs. AIcBride reared 
iier children in comfort, and aft'orded them suitable education, and finally 
purchased a comfortable home. This was in larger degree altogether 
through her own work. During the military service of her inisband, 
his wage of ihirtcen dollars a month could not go far in tho.se days, 
when every article of food and clothing commanded extravagant prices. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 231 

and the value of the greenhack dollar was only one-half the amount 
expressed upon its face. Later she was placed upon the pension rolls, 
to receive the meagre stipend provided for the widow of a soldier. 

Mrs. McBride has always taken an active and influential interest 
in the affairs of the Woman's Relief Corps, auxiliary to the Grand Army 
of the Republic, having been one of the organizers of Julia Dent Grant 
Circle, and for two terms junior vice-president, has tem.porarily occu- 
pied both the higher chairs, and is now a member of the executive 
committee. She has rendered zealous and intelligent aid in furthering 
the purposes of the onler, and in increasing its membership. In religion 
she is a Presbyterian. 

ORLO B. RHODES, for many years an lionored and successful 
teacher, and for ten years editor of the Watertown Daily Standard, was 
a native of the state of Xtw York, born in Scriba, Oswego county, 
January 14, 1849, '^''"^ ''"'>' ^"'i'''^ '-"'* Schuyler and Amanda (Sherman) 
Rhodes. 

3ilr. Rhodes was reared upon the parental farm and began his 
education in the district school. Studious from the first, he embraced 
e\'ery opportunity to advance himself in his studies. At the age of 
thirteen he entered a ward school at Oswego, and the following year 
went into the high school in order to prepare for college. At the age 
of seventeen he entered Brown University, where he pursued a four 
years' course, graduating in 1870, the year of his coming of age. He 
was inclined to schoolroom work, and in September following accepted 
an election to the vice principalship of Hungerford Collegiate Institute 
at Adams, then just opened under Albert B. Watkins, Ph. D., as prin- 
cipal. ]\Ir. Rhodes served in his position until 1876. and for two years 
afterward was joint principal with Dr. Watkins. He retired from the 
institution in 1878 to take a position in the Military Academy at Mor- 
gan Park, Illinois, in which he served one year. In 1882 he was 
recalled to Hungerford Collegiate Institute, of which he became principal 
a year later, in succession to his friend and former chief. Dr. Watkins. 
During his administration a;i institute debt of some standing was liqui- 
dated and a small endowment was founded. Besides discharging the 
duties as principal, 'Mv. Rhodes devoted much time to the preparation 
of lads for college, teaching principally Latin and Greek. While he 
was industrious in his schoolroom work, in which he made for himself 
an excellent reputation, he was at the same time known throughout a 



232 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

large portion of the state as an effective advocate of general education, 
and exerted a marked influence b)- means of his lectures before teachers' 
bodies, and educational papers in school aild other journals. 

In 1894 My. Rhodes retired from the principalship of the institute 
to accept the position of editor of the Watertown Daily Standard, which 
had then been in existence a fe\v months. This journal has become 
widely known as one of the leading newspapers of northern New York, 
distinguished for its high moral tone and able advocacy of Republican 
principles and local interests. The intellectual ability of Mr. Rhodes 
was discernible in a special manner in his treatment of educational sub- 
jects and book reviews. His death occurred June 23, 1904, at Water- 
town. 

The esteem in which Mr. Rhodes was held by his contemporaries 
and the general public is shown by the following, out of many similar 
notices : 

Professor Orlo B. Rhodes, editor of the Watertown Standard, shot 
and killed himself m his sanctum Thursday afternoon, while sufifering 
from nervous dyspepsia. It is believed that he was sufifering from tem- 
porary insanity at the time, as he had been a victim of the disease for 
years, and at rimes his sufferings were intense. He had just been 
elected principal of the Adams school, and his death came as a great 
shock to all. He com.mitted the act while alone at the noon hour, and 
his body was found on the return of the employes to the office. 

He had been editor of the Standard for ten years and had given the 
best years of his life to the work. He was a scholar and a man well 
liked by all. His suffering deterred him from mingling in society, but , 
on a few occasions he had responded to toasts and had become some- 
what celebrated in that respect. 

As an editor '.e had stood for the right. He was impartial and 
his writings showed him a scholar. He was just and avoided contro- 
versies. He had a warm place in the esteem of all newspaper men 
and his deatli is a loss to the fraternity he so well adorned. — The Canton 
Plaiudcalcr. 

The tragic death last week of Orlo B. Rhodes, the editorial writer 
on the Watertown Standard, shocked his many friends throughout 
northern New York. INIr. Rhodes was a lovable man. Quiet and un- 
ostentatious, lie was a man of sterling worth and true friendship. En- 
dowed with a Ijright intellect, there was prolialily no more polished 
writer in the newspaper profession in this section of the state than he. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 233 

To those who were intimate with him and had worked by his side liis 
real worth was known. — Gouverneur Free Press. 

HENRY PURCELL of W'atertown, recognized as a leader of the 
legal profession of northern New York, is a son of Michael and Susan 
(Keon) Purcell, who in early life left Ireland, the country of their 
nativity, and emigrated to the United States, making their home in Jef- 
ferson county. New York, to the prosperity and advancement of which 
at least one of their descendants has so notably contributed. 

Henry Purcell. son of ]\Iichael and Susan (Keon) Purcell, was 
born October 13, 1848, at \A'ilna, Jefferson county. H.e received his 
education at the Watertown high school and the Antwerp Academy, 
and while attending school taught during the winters in order to earn 
money with which to defray his educational expenses. Having de- 
veloped a taste for professional life, he began the study of law with 
the late Judge John C. McCartin in the spring of 1872. The following 
autumn he was elected school commissioner of the second district of 
the count}^ and ser\-ed in that capacity three years, at the same time 
continuing his law studies. In January, 1876, he was admitted to the 
bar and the following three years was with the firm of McCartin & 
Williams as assistant. In 1879 he formed a law partnership with the 
late Charles A. Sherman, a connection which was maintained until the 
death of the latter. In 1894 he formed a partnership with John N. 
Carlisle, which continued until May i, 1897, when he associated himself 
with the late Senator Mullin and George H. Walker, the surviving 
members of the firm of Mullin, Griffin & Walker, who were the attorneys 
for the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad Company. This 
firm continued until the death of Senator Mullin, which occurred Sep- 
tember I, 1S97, and a short time after the present firm of Purcell, 
Walker & Burns was formed, which still has charge of the business of 
the Central Railroad in Jefferson, Oswego and Lewis counties, in addi- 
tion to a large general law practice. Mr. Purcell is a ready, persuasive 
speaker and argues causes on appeal quite as well as before a jury, 
although as a trial lawyer he probably excels. He is a director and vice 
president of rhe National Bank and Loan Company and a trustee of the 
Jefferson County Savings Bank. 

In the autumn of 1881 Mr. Purcell was elected city recorder and 
served the full tcKm of four }-ears. During the years 1887 and 1888 
he held the office of city attorney, and in January, 189J, he was appointed 



234 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

h\ Governor Flower county judge to till the vacancy caused by the death 
of Judge John C. AlcCartin. He has held during his legal practice many- 
positions of trust and contidence, and as counsel in important cases his 
services are in constant demand. He has devoted much of his spare 
time to literature and the upbuilding of the school system of his city, 
upon the educational board of which he served faithfully from 1885 
to 1897. He is vice president of the New York State Bar Association 
and also belongs to the Transportation Club of New York city and to 
the Union Ciub of Watertown. 

^Ir. Purcell married January 10, 1878, at Watertown. Cecilia R. 
Neary, and tliey are the parents of the following children : Francis K. ; 
Henry. Jr.; John C. ; Katherine, and Alice. The beautiful home of 
Mr. and Mrs. Purcell is one of the social centers of Watertown. 

EDWARD HULBERT THOMPSON, founder of the firm of 
E. H. Thompson & Company of Watertown, one of the largest and 
most successful business houses in northern New York, is a man of 
great executive ability, tireless energy and unsw'erving integrity, and 
throughout his long connection with business enterprises has always 
borne an enviable reputation among his associates. He was born in 
Martinsburg, Lewis county, New York, September 3. 1S35, only sur- 
viving child of Dr. William and Maria (Perry) Thompson. 

(I) The American founder of the family, John Thompson, a 
native of England, was among the settlers of Stratford, Connecticut, 
where he died in 1678. His wife's christian name was Mirable. She 
died April 13, 1690. 

(II) Ambrose Thompson, son of John and Mirable, was born 
January i, 1651, and died September 6, 174.2, near the close of his 
ninetieth year. His wife, Sarah Weller, born September 28, 1659, was 
a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Bowers) Weller, who were born in 
England — the former in 1621 — and died 1659 and 1681, respectively, 
in Stratford. 

(HI) Deacon John Thompson, son of Ambrose and Sarah 
(Weller) Thompson, was born 1680 and died 1765. He was married 
November 15. 1705. to Ruth Curtis, who died April 23. 1721. She 
was a daughter of Benjamin and Esther (Judson) Curtis, and a great- 
granddaughter of W'illiam and Elizabeth Curtis, natives of England 
and pioneer settlers of Roxbury, Massachusetts. Esther Judson was 
a daughter of Lieutenant Joseph Judson and Sarah Porter, and grand- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 235 

dnugliter of William and Grace Judson, who came from England and 
resided at Stratford. Sarah Porter's parents, John and Rose Porter, 
died in 164S. 

(IV) John Thompson, son of Deacon John and Knth Thomp- 
son, born April i, 1717, married Mehitable, daughter of Joseph Booth 
of Bridgeport, Connecticut, who was a grandson of Richard and Eliza- 
beth (Hawley) Booth, who came from England and settled m Strat- 
ford. The grandmother of Mehitable Thompson — Hannah Wilcoxen — 
was a granddaughter of William and Margaret Wilcoxen, English set- 
tlers of Concord, Massachusetts. 

(V) John, son of John and Mehitable (Booth) Tlnimpson, born 
1749, lived in Stratford and died April 25, 1801, about fifty-two years 
old. He was a Revolutionary soldier, and suffered great hardships 
while held as a prisoner by the British in New York city. 

(VI) Stiles, son of John Thompson, was born 1768 and died 
1853, in Rutland, this county, where he settled previous to 1820. He 
married Hannah Hopkins, who was born May 30, 1770, and died Feb- 
ruary 20, 1841, a daughter of Joseph and Hepsibah (Clark) Hopkins. 
Joseph was a son of Stephen Hopkins of Waterbury, Connecticut, a son 
of John and Hannah Hopkins, the former of whom died in November, 
1632. Stiles Thompson kept the first pretentious hotel in the present 
city of Waterbury, and the hack which he introduced in the town was 
such an object of curiosity that the whole congregation filed out to look 
it over, the first time he rode to church in it at Middlebury. Hepsibah 
Clark was a daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Strong) Clark of North- 
ampton, Massachusetts — the former a son of William and Hannah 
(Strong) Clark of Lebanon and Northampton, Massachusetts, and the 
latter a daughter of John and Hannah (Trumbull) Strong of Windsor, 
Connecticut. 

Susannah, wife of Stephen Hopkins, above mentioned, was a 
daughter of John and Susannah (Street) Peck of New Haven. All 
the names hereinbefore mentioned are among the honored ones of 
Connecticut history. 

(VII) Dr. William Thompson was born July 16, 1803, in Mid- 
dlebury, and died September 9, 1848. His wife, Maria Perry, was 
born October 16, 1809. and died August i, 1843. His medical educa- 
tion was finished at Bellevue Hospital, New York, in 1829, and he 
settled in Martinsburg, New York, at once. In 1838 he went to Kala- 
mazoo, Michigan, and to Florida, seeking to recover the health lost 



236 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

while riding o\'er wide areas on horseback, while practicing his profes- 
sion, and never practiced after 1840. He was a great sufiferer from 
asthma and did not lie down during the last thirteen years ofjiis life. 

Edward H. Thompson obtained his education at the public schools 
of his native village, after which, at the age of nineteen years, he went 
to New Haven, Connecticut, and devoted his attention to the study of 
portrait painting under the competent preceptorship of Wales Hotch- 
k;ss. After three years he was forced to abandon this line of work, 
owing to defective eyesight. In 1859 he settled in Watertown, New 
York, entered into partnership with J. B. Tyler in the retail grocery 
business, under the style of E. H. Thompson & Company, and this 
copartnership continued until 1866, a period of seven years. In the 
latter named year Mr. Thompson purchased his partner's interest in the 
business, conducted it successfully on his own account up to the year 
1892, when he admitted to partnership two of his clerks, Messrs. J. W. 
Van Camp and L. J. McDonald, under the style of E. H. Thompson & 
Company, and this firm is now one of the best known and conducts one 
of the most extensive trades in the city of Watertown. In 1898 Mr. 
Thompson sold out his interest to his partners and retired from trade. 

Mr. Thompson has been married twice. His first marriage oc- 
curred in November, i860, to Mary E. Isham, who died in 1863, and 
his second marriage occurred in May, 1866, to Mary A. Hopkins. 

Mr. Thompson is a member of the First Presbyterian church of 
Watertown. He is vice president of the Jefferson County Historical 
Society, in which he takes an active interest, and is a member of the 
Lincoln League, which is evidence of his sound Republicanism. On 
account of business pressure he has refused many tenders of public 
office, and has never lieen an active politician. 

D. G. tOSTER. One of the leading representatives of the manu- 
facturing interests of Jefferson count}' is D. G. Foster of Watertown. 
H° is descended from a Rhode Island family of some prominence, a 
town in that state having been named in honor of his ancestors. From 
this home of the race George Foster came to New York in 1812 as a 
fighter in the patriot cause. He served on the United States ship Con- 
stitution, and was present at the battle of Lake Champlain. At the 
close of the war, instead of returning to Rhode Island, he settled as a 
farmer in Jefferson county and there passed the remainder of his life. 
Here was born his son. John R. Foster, who was also a seafaring man. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 237 

and during the Civil war enlisted in the One Hundred and Eighty-sixth 
New York Volunteers. He witnessed much active service, in the course 
of which he was wounded. He married Albina Whitman of Dexter, 
and two children were born to them : Alice E., who is the wife of C. R. 
Stowell; and Delavan G., mentioned at length hereinafter. Mr. and 
Mrs. Foster are still living, the former having attained, after his life of 
hardship and adventure, to the age of seventy years. 

Delavan George Foster, son of John R. and Albina (Whitman). 
Foster, was born October 26, 1862, at Dexter, received his education 
in the common schools and afterward taught for fourteen years in the 
schools of Dexter and Evans' Mills. Desiring to enter commercial 
life, he traveled for a time as agent for a building and loan association 
and in 1897 came to Watertown, where he formed a partnership with 
Robert J. Bagg. The firm engaged in business as furniture manufac- 
turers and steadily prospered. In 1900 Mr. Foster purchased the in- 
terest of Mr. Bagg and has since continued the business alone. In 
addition to being a manufacturer of furniture, he is also a wholesale 
dealer, and is largely engaged in fitting up banks and offices. The 
new court house affords specimens of some of his finest work, and his 
services are in demand all over the county. In 1901 he erected a sub- 
stantial store building on Moulton street, wdiich he occupies. Mr. 
Foster is a good citizen, as well as a successful business man, but has 
never taken an active part in political matters, though he is a steadfast 
and consistent Republican and a charter member of the Lincoln League. 
He is a member of the Masonic fraternity. His religious belief is 
that held by the Universalists, and in the Watertown church of that 
sect he holds the office of treasurer. 

;\Ir. Foster married Lottie A. W'oodruft", and they became the 
parents of a son, who is named Harold. After the death of his wife, 
Mr. Foster married, in 1897, Lily L., daughter of Henry Earned, a 
member of one of the old families of Evans' Mills. By this second 
marriage there are no children. 

STANLEY EZIEKEL HUNTING. In every community there 
is a class of men who, by their persevering and enterprising spirit, infuse 
into the commerce of the place a vitality which it would otherwise lack 
and without which the business interests of the community would in- 
evitably languish. One of these men is Stanley E. Hunting of Water- 
town. 



238 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Tlie Hunting family was founded in America by (I) John Huntting 
of Suffolk county. England, who settled in Dedham, Massachusetts, in 
1638. He had a son. (H) John, whose son, (HI) Jonathan, was the 
father of (IV) Ebenezer. The last named had a son, (V) Jonathan, 
and a grandson (VI) Ezekiel S.. who was a pioneer settler in the town 
of Henderson, this county. 

(VII) Maro B. Hunting, son of Ezekiel S., was born ]\Iarch 15, 
1826, in the town of Henderson, and came to Watertow^i in 1863. He 
was engaged in the milk business, and also dealt extensively in cattle and 
horses. After a successful business career of twenty years, he was 
removed by death November 20, 1883. He was married February 20, 
1856, to Ann Jane, daughter of Hiram Converse, one of the pioneer 
settlers of Watertown. Mrs. Hunting survives her husband and resides 
in Watertown. Her only child, S. E. Hunting, is the subject of fol- 
lowing paragraphs. Her husband was a well known and highly re- 
spected citizen, and she upholds the character of her New England 
ancestors, in a quiet, Christian life, surrounded by many loving friends. 

(VIII) Stanley E. Hunting was born July 26. 1865. in \\'ater- 
town, and has not only kept pace w'ith the growth of the city, but has 
been a leader in its development. His primary education was supplied 
by the public schools of the city and he subsequently attended private 
schools and a business college. His first commercial experience was 
in caring for his father's estate, being compelled by the early death of 
his father to leave school and enter directly upon the laborious efforts 
necessary in conserving the business interests involved. He continued 
the milk business, which involved long hours of labor, and engaged in 
stone contracting and real estate dealing at the age of eighteen years. 
His first large contract was for furnishing the building stone used in 
the construction of Trinity church, the completion of which consumed 
two years and involved the labor of many men and teams. For some 
years after the death of his father lie continued business alone and. in 
1891, became associated with F. B. Deveiidorf in the plumbing business, 
under the style of Devendorf & Hunting. At the end of two years the 
business was extended to include wholesale dealing in plumbing and 
mill supplies, and ?*Ir. Hunting became senior partner, with Mr. Deven- 
dorf's successor. Alter two years more, a third partner was admitted, 
Mr. Hunting continuing as head and manager, and the establishment was 
widely recognized as the leader in the business at this point. In June, 
1903, Mr. Hunting organized the Hunting Company to deal in 




0i^'^2-^0<^ 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 239 

plumbers", tinners' and mill supplies, and is its president and manager. 
This concern immediately took a leading position among manufacturers 
and dealers in this and adjoining states, and is steadily growing with, 
or a little in advance of the rapid growth of northern New York. The 
company owns the buildings it occupies, Mr. Hunting having erected 
the first exclusive wholesale building in the city. Mr. Hunting Is inter- 
ested as a director and vice president in the Raymondville Paper Com- 
pany, and is a director of the Eager Electric Company. His previous 
experience in the plumbing business has proved valuable to Mr. Hunting 
in his subsequent and present business relations. In addition to all 
his other activities, he is the owner and manager of a farm near the 
city in the town of Pamela. 

The political life of Watertown has also felt the influence due to 
the earnestness and desire for progress by which Mr. Hunting has been 
distinguished throughout his comniercial career. He has taken an active 
interest in public aflairs and his townsmen have repeatedly testified by 
their votes to the esteem in which they hold him. He has twice rep- 
resented the second ward as alderman and, for both terms, 1900-03, 
was chairman of the finance committee of the common council. He is 
a prominent member of the Lincoln League and the Union Club. His 
political principles are those championed by the Republican party, and 
they find no mean advocate in Mr. Hunting. He attends the LTniversalist 
church, in which he holds the office of trustee. 

On the maternal side, Mr. Hunting comes of Rexolutionaiy stock, 
and he has in his possession the commission given to his ancestor. Gen- 
eral Converse, as major of militia, by George Clinton, the first governor 
of the state of New York. 

Mr. Hunting was married Feliruary 28, 1892, to Miss Grace L., 
daughter of F. B. Devendorf of Watertown, and they are now the 
parents of three children : Maro Stanley, Frederick James and Mildred 
Alace. 

MAJOR LOUIS CHRISTOPHER GREENLEAF, one of the 
most progressive business men of \^'atertown, New York, is a descendant 
of an old and highly honored famil\- which traces back nine generations 
in America. The Greenleaf family were originally Huguenots who left 
France on account of religious persecutions, and settled in England some 
time in the sixteenth century. The first of the name in America was 
Edmund Greenleaf. born in 1573, and baptized Januarv 2. 1^74- He 



240 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

came from Ipswich, county of Suffolk, England, and settled in Newbury, 
Massachusetts, early in the year 1635. In 1637 he commanded a com- 
pany of militia in an excursion against the Indians, and in 1639 was 
ordered to be ensign of the Newbury Company at Newbury, Massachu- 
setts. (Register of the Society of Colonial Wars for 1894.) In 1642 
Edmund Greenleaf was commissioned lieutenant of Massachusetts pro- 
vincial forces, and in 1644 was commissioned captain, and was head 
of the militia under Garrish. In 1647, ^t his own request, he was dis- 
charged from military office. He was twice married; first to Sarah 
Dole, of Boston, and second to Mrs. Sarah Hill. He died in Boston, 
Massachusetts, March 24, 1671. 

Stephen Greenleaf, son of Edmund Greenleaf, was born in Ipswich, 
England, in August, 1628. He was appointed ensign of Massachusetts 
militia. May 31, 1670; lieutenant in 1685, and captain in 1686. As 
captam in the Massachusetts forces he went with the disastrous expedi- 
tion against Port Royal in October, 1690, and while landing from the 
ship was wrecked and drowned on December i, 1690, with nine others 
of his company. On November 13, 165 1, he married Elizabeth, daughter 
of Tristrain and Dionis (Stevens) Collins, of Newbury, Massachusetts, 
who bore him ten children. Mrs. Greenleaf died November 19, 1678. 
Mr. Greenleaf married (second) March 31, 1679, Esther Weare Sweet, 
daughter of Nathaniel Weare and widow of Benjamin Sweet, and her 
death occurred January 16, 1718, aged eighty-nine years. Stephen Green- 
leaf died December i, 1690. 

Stephen Greenleaf, Jr., son of Stephen Greenleaf, was born in New- 
bury, Massachusetts, August 15, 1652. In the old records of the town 
of Newbury he is called "Captain Stephen" ; he served in the King 
Philip's war, and was severely wounded in a battle with the Indians at 
Hatfield, on the Connecticut river, Massachusetts, August 25, 1675. 
On June 4, 1685, Ensign Greenleaf was appointed lieutenant, and on 
August 2, 1689, in the Indian war, he was sent to treat with the Indians 
at Rennacoch. He was afterward made captain, and was distinguished 
in the Indian wars of the time. He is mentioned in "Mather's Magnalia" 
as commanding a company in the celebrated battle with the French and 
Indians at Wells, Maine, in 1690. On October 13, 1676, he married 
Elizabeth Gerrish, who was born September 10, 1654, daughter of Will- 
iam and Joanna (Goodale) Gerrish, and they were the parents of ten 
children. Stephen Greenleaf, Jr., died October 13, 1743, at Newbury, 
Massachusetts, and his wife died August 5, 1712. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 2-^1 

Rev. Daniel Greenleaf, son of Captain Stephen Greenleaf, Jr., was 
born February lo, 1679. He was united in marriage November 18, 1701, 
to Elizabeth Cooking, born November 11, 1681, daughter of Samuel 
and Mary Cooking, and granddaughter of General Dame! Cooking, who 
was elected major general of all the forces of the colony of Massachusetts, 
May II, 1 68 1, and who was the last major general of the colony under 
the old charter, and also the first under the charter of William and Mary. 
Thirteen children were the issue of this union. Rev. Daniel Greenleaf 
died in Boston, Massachusetts, August 26, 1763, ^nd his wife, Elizabeth 
(Cooking) Greenleaf, died in November, 1762. 

Dr. Daniel Greenleaf, eldest child of the Rev. Daniel Greenleaf, was 
born November 7, 1702, at Cambridge, Massachusetts. He served as 
surgeon of a regiment of Massachusetts troops at the siege oi Louis- 
burg, Cape Breton, in 1754, and also as surgeon on one of the colony 
ships during the same war. His personal history is preserved at Wor- 
cester, Massachusetts, to which place he reinoved from Cambridge. 
He was married July 18, 1726, to Mrs. Silence (Nicholas) March, who 
was born July 4, 1702, and ten children were born to them. Dr. Green- 
leaf died July 18, 1795. 

Stephen Greenleaf, son of Dr. Daniel Greenleaf, was born October 
15, 1735, in Boston, Massachusetts. He served as a private in Captain 
John Carter's mounted company, which was detached from Colonel Oliver 
Wilder's regiment and served in the Fort William Henry alarm. He was 
afterward a sergeant in Captain Asa Whitcomb's company of Colonel Jon- 
athan Bagley's regiment raised for the invasion of Canada, and served 
eights months and twelve days. In the fall of 1771 he movdd from Boston, 
Massachusetts, to Brattleboro, Vermont, where he had purchased the 
tract of land of about eight hundred acres, known as the "Governor's 
Farm," comprising all that is now known as the east village of Brattle- 
boro. He built mills and opened, as is believed, the first store in Vermont, 
He built the first dwelling house, the first sawmill and the first gristmill 
ever erected in Brattleboro. He was married January 1 1, 1758, to Eunice 
Fairbanks, born in Boston, Massachusetts, and of their eleven children, 
six were born in Boston, Massachusetts, and five in Brattleboro, Vermont. 
. His eldest son, Stephen, served as town clerk of Brattleboro for fifty-five 
successive years. Stephen Greenleaf died in Brattleboro, June 8, 1802, 
and his wife, Eunice (Fairbanks) Greenleaf, died March 8, 1826. 

Dr. Christopher Greenleaf, fifth son of Stephen Greenleaf, was born 
in Boston, Massachusetts, November 26, 1776. For a period of time 



242 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

he resided in \'ennont. from whence he removed to the state of X'ew 
York", setthng first at Smithville and later at Lafargevillt. On January 
30, 1803. he married Tabitha Dickinson, who was born in Hatfield, 
Massachusetts, September 9. 1777, and five children were born to them. 
Dr. Christoplier Greenleaf died Ma}- iS, 1837. The commission given by 
the major part of the council of Massachusetts Bay. in Xew England, to 
John Dickinson, father of Tabitha (Dickinson) Greenleaf, appointing 
him second lieutenant of the Second Company in the Fourth Battalion for 
reorganizing the army of the United American Colony, destined to Can- 
ada, was signed by Jeremiah Powell. B. Greenleaf, W. Spooner, Caleb 
Gushing. G. Winthrop. S. Hollen, Jabez Fisher, B. \\'hite, L Gushing, 
\\"m. Phillips. John Taylor. Daniel Davis, Josqjh Gushing. D. Sewall, 
D. Hopkins. It is "gi\'en imder the hand and seal of the said colony at 
Watertown. [Massachusetts, July 12, 1776." This is the cnly one of these 
commissions known, and the signatures are still as plain as ever. 

John Dickinson Greenleaf, son of Dr. Christopher Greenleaf, was 
born at Guilford. Vermont, December 8, 1803. \Mien quite young he 
removed with his father to Smithville, New York, a few years later 
settled at Lafargeville. and when twenty years of age removed to Clayton 
(then French Creek), where for a short time he was a clerk in the store of 
W. H. Angel. For a period of almost twenty years he was employed 
in the capacity of clerk with the firm of Merick & Smith, and had charge 
of their lumber business in Quebec. He then returned to Lafargeville, 
and there remained until 1857, when he located in Seneca. Ontario coun- 
ty : he also resided at Hall's Corners, New York. 

On August 14, 1838, in Quebec, Canada. ]\lr. Greenleaf was mar- 
ried to Julia Truesdell. of that place, and their family consisted of the 
following named children: i. John, born June 21, 1839, died August 
21, 1840: 2. Louis Christopher, (ninth generation,) bom November 23, 
1840, mentioned hereinafter; 3. Josephine P.. born January 21, 1842, 
became the wife of Henry M. Dixon, of Seneca Castle, New York, No- 
vember 28, 1865; 4. Mary J., born August 14, 1843, became the wife 
of Lester Webster, of Seneca, New York, April 29, 1863 : he died August 
19, 1895 ; 5- Horace D.. born May 1 1, 1845, married Frances E. Dixon, 
of Seneca, Ontario county. New York, December 29, 1870, and their 
children are: John D. and Lucy J. Greenleaf: 6. Lunette T., born De- 
ceml>er 22, 1846, became the wife of her cousin, Maitland B. Sloat. of 
Watertown, New York, September 4. 1877. and they reside at Mt. Ver- 
non. New York; 7. Harriet A.. l)orn Julv ^. 1850, became the wife of 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 243 

George N. Dixon, of Hall's Corners, New York; 8. A child who died in 
infancy. 

Louis C. Greenleaf was Iiorn in Lafargeville, New York, November 
23, 1840. Later he remo\-e(l to Ontario county, and in i860 located in 
Watertown, Jefiferson count}-, where for one year he was engaged in the 
county clerk's otfice. On Ma}- 9, 1861, he enlisted in Company A, Thirty- 
fifth Regiment New York Volunteers, that being the first company to 
leave Watertown for the battlefields in the sunny south. After serving 
two years he was promoted to the rank of sergeant, and then orderly 
sergeant, and for nine years after the war he held a commission in the 
New York state militia, and resigned as major in 1876. After his return 
from the war he entered the provost-marshars office in Watertown, New 
York, and after the discontinuance of this office he was discount clerk 
in the Jefiferson County Bank for two years, and teller and cashier in the 
Merchant's Bank for four }-ears. In March. 1872. in company with C. 
\Y'. Sloat. (whose sketch is elsewhere in this work) under the firm name 
of Sloat & Greenleaf, he engaged in the lumber business. In February 
of 1893 the firm was incorporated under the name of "The Sloat & Green- 
leaf Lumber Company," for the manufacture of sash, doors and blinds, 
of which company Mr. Greenleaf was elected secretary and treasurer. 
The company is now one of the most extensive and prosperous concerns 
in the city. The mill of the Sloat & Greenleaf Lumber Company was de- 
stroyed by fire December 8, 1903, and was at once re'ouilt with new 
equipment, and is well provided with all the most modern machinery to 
be found in a first-class n-iill. Mr. Greenleaf was the first city treasurer 
of the city of Watertown, New York, which office he held two years. He 
was county treasurer two terms, supervisor of the second ward for 
several years, and member of the board of education for eight years. 
He has for over twenty }'ears been a member of Joe Spratt Post, No. 
^27,, G. A. R., of Watertown, New York, has held the office oi com- 
mander, and is now post quartermaster, having already served five 
years. 

September 8, 1868, Mr. Greenleaf married Lorra Cornelia .Shafi'er, 
of Watertown, and their children are: i. Josephine Adele, born in 
Watertown, New York, May 22. 1S70: married Cornelius D. Shirley., 
June 3, 1891, who died December 12, 1891. Married (second) Byron 
H. Elwood, March i, 1902, and resides in Syracuse New York. 2. Lyd- 
ia Cornelia, born in Watertown, New York, May 24, 1872 ; married Ray- 
mond Fox Casler, a prominent young dentist of Watertown. New York, 



244 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

April 17, 1900, and had two daugliters — Josephine Greenleaf Casler, born 
October 30, 1901, died June 13, 1902; and Edna Greenleaf Casler, born 
October 19, 1903. She resides in Watertown, New York. 3. Alice 
Lvmette. born in Watertown, New York, March, 1874, died August, 
1874. 

CHARLES J. HARDY, a miller, contractor and builder of Pies- 
sis, in the town of Alexandria, Jefferson county, New York, is a native 
of that locality, the date of his birth being October 19, 1857. 

On the paternal side he traces his ancestry to William Hardy, a 
native of England, born in the year 1750, who after his migration to 
this country became one of the pioneer settlers of Otsego county, New 
York. He resided in East Springfield, near Cherry Valley, and during 
the war of the revolution all his buildings were destroyed, having been 
set afire by the Indians. Among his children w^as a son, Charles Hardy, 
grandfather of Charles J. Hardy, who was born in Otsego county. New 
York, in 1785. Subsequently he cleared a tract of land upon which 
he resided until 1820, when he moved to Oswego county and located at 
Sandy Creek, where he purchased land. After a residence of several 
years in that section, he removed to Lewis county, coming to the town 
of Orleans in 1873, and spent the remainder of his days there, dying 
at the age of ninety-one years. His wife, Susan Hardy, born in 1792, 
bore hiiiT six children, all of whom are now deceased. She was a mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church. Her death occurred in the 
year 1868, aged seventy-six years. 

Erastus Hardy, father of Charles J. Hardy, was born in Otsego 
county. New York, October 31, 18 15. He was reared in the town of 
Orleans, and the early years of his life were spent in attendance at the 
village school during the winter months, and assisting with the various 
duties of farm life during the summer season. After his marriage Mr. 
Hardy came to Alexandria, Jefferson county, and located on a farm 
in the vicinity of the residence now occupied by his son, Charles J. 
Later he disposed of this property and purchased a farm of two hun- 
dred acres which he cultivated to a high state of perfection, and on 
which he resided for a number of years. Having accumulated a suffi- 
cient competence to allow him. to retire from active pursuits, he took 
up his residence in the town of Theresa, where he took an active interest 
in local affairs. The latter years of his life were spent in the home of 
his son. Charles T-. where he was well and tenderlv cared for. Li 1838, 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 245 

at the age of twenty-three }-ear.s, he was united in marriage to Jane 
Wiley (died, 1846), who bure him two children, Susanh and Sylves- 
ter. In 1848 he was united in marriage to Catherine Sheeley Van 
Brocklin, one of a number of children born to John Sheeley, who was a 
farmer by occupation, conducting his operations at Tanner's Corners: 
he located in that section of the county when it was a perfect wilder- 
ness, and for a period of time he was compelled to carry his grain to 
Lafargeville to be ground, making his way by means of blazed trees. 
He spent the latter years of his life with his children, among whom 
was a son, John Sheeley, now a resident of Clayton, New York, dying 
in Clayton, at the age of eighty-seven years. Mr. and Mrs. Hardy 
were the parents of three children, all of whom are now li\ing ; Mrs. 
Asa Kesler, of Stone Mills, New York ; Mrs. Elias Walter, of Theresa, 
New York; Charles J., mentioned at length in the following paragraph. 
Erastus Hardy (father) died, aged seventy-seven years. Catherine 
(Sheeley) Hardy (mother) died June 16, 1886, in the sixty-seventh 
year of her age. They were both honorable and God-fearing people, 
and enjoyed the confidence and esteem of their friends and neighbors. 

In the common schools of the town of Alexandria, New York, 
Charles J. Hardy obtained that thorough knowledge of the rudimentary 
branches of education which is so essential to success in whatever line 
of work a man engages, whether in professional life, in the office, 
store, shop or field. He remained an inmate of the parental home until 
he was thirty-two years old, in the meantime working on the home- 
stead farm. He then purchased a farm at Stone Mills, and in connec- 
tion with agricultural pursuits he worked at the trade of carpenter for 
three years. Since his removal to Plessis in the year igoo, he has 
devoted his entire attention to contracting, building and operating a 
mill, from all of which enterprises he derives a goodly income. He 
erected a sLeam mill for custom grinding. His religious views are in 
accord with those advanced by the Methodist Episcopal church, of 
which he is a member. His ideas of politics coincide with the principles 
of Republicanism, and in fraternal matters he affiliates with Lodge No. 
174, Free and Accepted Masons, of Theresa, and Court Victorious No. 
1750, Independent Order of Foresters. 

In 1 89 1 Mr. Hardy married Lena L. Van Amber, born in St. Law- 
rence county, New York, daughter of Wallace and Maryett Van Amber, 
who were the parents of two children, Mrs. Hardy being the only one 
living at the present time. Wallace Van Amber was a miller by occu- 



246 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

pation, whicn line of trade he followed in St. Lawrence county up to 
the time of the breaking out of the Civil war, and from that time to 
his decease, in the sixty-third year of his age. in the town of Alexan- 
dria, Jefferron county. Mr. and Mrs. Hardy have one child, Gladys 
Kathleen, born March 22, 1899. 

THOMAS M. HUTCHINS, superintendent of the Carthage Sul- 
phite Pulp Mill, has made his own way in the w-orld from an early age, 
and is one of the enterprising and successful men of the day. He 
v.as born February 16, 1872, in Westport, Canada, being a son of Alfred 
and Elizabeth (Pinkerton) Hutchins, whose names guarantee an an- 
cient Scotch lineage. The father died when Thomas was fifteen years 
old, and the mother a year later, and the son was thus early thrown 
upon his own resources. 

W'itii little schooling, he began at th.e age of fifteen years to learn 
the blacksmith's trade at Portland, Canada, and served an apprentice- 
ship of four years. After traveling as a journeyman one year, working 
at Chaumont, Limerick, and Burrville, he was employed as blacksmith 
and machinist by the Dexter Sulphite Company, where he continued 
two and one-half years. \\'hen the Newton Falls Paper Company's 
mill was constructed, Mr. Hutchins constructed its piping, and subse- 
quently took charge of the sulphite department of the mill, continuing 
in that capacity three and one-half years. After aiding in the install- 
ment of the plant of the Jefiferson Board Company at Hering, he took 
charge of the Carthage Sulphite Company's plant at West Carthage, 
and installed the same in 1898, continuing ever since as superintendent 
of the operation of the mill. His youngest brother, Alexander Hutch- 
ins, succeeded him in charge of the Newton Falls mill, and subsequently 
joined him here, and died at Carthage in 1899. 

Of modest and quiet nature, Mr. Hutchins pursues his daily duties 
industriously, and does not seek for public notice. He is a member 
of Carthage Lodge No. 158, Ancient, Free and .Accepted ]\Iasons; and 
supports Republican principles of government by his vote. Li the spring 
of 1901 he formed a partnership with Frank F. Fritz, a well-known 
local horseman, for the promotion of good breeding in horseflesh, and 
they now own the driving course at Carthage. In April, 1901, they 
purchased the fine trotting stallion, "Royal Victor," which has a record 
of 2 :o8;l4- <infl have since kept him at Carthage, an advantage to breeders 
of the vicir.itv. '"Roval Victor" is one uf the most beautiful horses to 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTOL<Y. 247 

be found anywliere, and holds the \\ orld's record for trotting an eighth, 
namely, fourteen seconds. This is a rate which, if maintained for a 
full mile, would far surpass the recent noted achievements of Lou Dil- 
lon and Alajor Delmar. They have subsequently accjuired another fine- 
blooded animal, known as "Corinna," a beautiful creature, with fine 
record for trotting action. Mr. Fritz is a devoted lover of horses and 
skilled in their traming, anjl under his faithful charge these valuable 
animals are bound to be kept at the highest pitch of efficiency. Mr. 
Hutchins also takes pride and delight in his handsome horses, and mani- 
fests the spirit of the true sportsman. He is a member of the Carthage 
Social Club. 

WAYLAND F. FORD, a prominent attorney-at-law of Lafarge- 
ville, Jefferson county, New York, who has built up a profitable practice 
and possesses one of the best selected as well as most extensive libraries 
in the county, was born in the town in which he now resides, June 26, 
1838, during the incumbency of his father, the Rev. Lewis T. Ford, as 
pastor of the First Baptist church. 

Rev. Lewis T. Ford (father) was born in Eaton, Madison county, 
New York, in 1809, son of John Ford, who married Lucy Rich, in 
Connecticut, and the couple, with Reuben Rich, brother of Mrs. Ford, 
emigrated to Madison county. New York. Lewis T. Ford worked upon 
liis father's farm and in his mill until he attained manhood, receiving 
only a common school education. After arriving at his majority, 
through his own exertions he supported himself as a student at Madi- 
son (now Colgate) University, graduated from the theological depart- 
ment, and was ordained to the ministry of the Baptist church. At the 
age of twenty-six he married Miss Arminda Stetson, of Cooperstown, 
New York. Enterii^g upon ministerial work, he had charge of a church 
in Petersborough, New York, the home of Gerritt Smith, who was a 
member of his church and became a lifelong friend. He was pastor of 
the Baptist church in LaFargeville in 1838, about 1841 at Watertown, 
whence he went to Panshville, St. Lawrence county. New York, and 
remained in that county about four years, returning about 1845 ^o La- 
Fargeville, where he remained until his .death. He was a man of great 
energy and force of character. He left surviving him four children, all 
of whom reside in LaFargeville: Wayland F., mentioned hereinafter; 
L. Marie Strough, widow of Byron J. Strough : \Villiam G. and Charles 
FL Ford. Of his brothers and sisters, John Ford settled in Diana, 



248 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Lewis county, New York; Gilson Ford settled in Ohio; Guilford Ford 
remained in Madison county: Maria Rowell, a sister, resided in Wis- 
consin, and was the mother of thirteen children; and Matilda Vincent, 
another sister, resides in Wisconsin. Jesse Stetson, father of Mrs. 
Lewis T. Ford, left a large number of descendants, prominent among 
whom were Dr. Ezra Stetson, oi Peoria. Illinois; and Mrs. Hannah 
Van Court, who resides in St. Louis. 

Wayland F. Ford was one of the first students in the short-lived 
Orleans Academy, where he prepared for college, going thence to Madi- 
son University, from which institution he was graduated in the class 
of 1859. In order to pursue the study of law he entered the law office 
of E. R. Keene, of Watertown, New York, and after passing a credit- 
able examination in 1861, he was admitted to the bar, and began prac- 
tice in his native village in April of that year. The following October 
he enlisted in Company B, Ninety-fourth Lifantry Regiment, and for 
gallant and meritorious service on the field of battle he was promoted 
to the rank of second lieutenant. September 16, 1862, and by reason 
of the consolidation of the Ninety-fourth with the One Hundred and 
Fifth Infantry w'as discharged from the service in March, 1863. He 
re-enlisted in the Troop M, Twentieth Regiment, New York Cavalry, 
May I, 1863, and was promoted to first lieutenant the following Sep- 
tember, and to captain of Company D in October, 1863. He continued 
with this company and regiment, and was mustered out July 31, 1865, 
having served three years and nine months in defense of the Union. 
After the termination of hostilities he again resumed the practice of 
his profession at LaFargeville. Captain Ford has built up an extensive 
practice as a result of careful attention to the interests of his clients, 
coupled with a thorough knowledge of his profession. 

Mr. Ford was united in marriage in 1866 to Maria Cline, and their 
children are; Edith C. an elocutionist of note, and a graduate of the 
Noble School of Oratory, Detroit, Michigan; Lewis H., attorney and 
counsellor at law, now associated in practice with his father; and W. 
Frederick Ford. 

GEORGE HEYL. a miller and retired farmer of Lafargeville, 
town of Orleans, New York, was born February 9, 1838, a son of 
Henry and Kate M. (Heldt) Heyl, and grandson of Philip Heyl, who 
was born in Grosszimern, Germany, whence he emigrated to America, 
first locating in the town of Orleans, and subsequently at Evans Mills, 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 249 

where he died aged about seventy-five years. His wife died in Ger- 
many. Their cliildren were : Henry, Peter, Wendle, Mary, and Cath- 
erine Heyl. 

Henry Heyl (father), of Lafargeville, Jefferson county. New 
York, was torn near Frankfort-on-the-Main, Germany, in 1805. He 
spent the early years of his life in his native land, and learned the trade 
of weaver. In 1829 he came to America and purchased the first farm 
in the town of Orleans, New York. He was very successful in his 
operations, and built the first log house, which was later replaced by a 
frame one, which still stands. He was a member of the Lutheran church, 
and a worthy and exemplary citizen. 

In 1831 Henry Heyl married Kate M. Heldt, a native of Germany, 
daughter of Barnard Heldt. and they were the parents of the following 
named children: i. Philip, born September i, 1836, is now a retired 
farmer, residing in Lafargeville, New York. He married, December 
31, 1861, Lucira Lingenfelter. a daughter of John Lingenfelter. (See 
sketch of William H. Lingenfelter.) Two children were born of this 
union, one of whom is living, John, who married Lottie Vincent, of 
Clayton, New York, and their children are Howard and Elmer H. Heyl. 
2. George, born February 9, 1838, mentioned at length in the follow- 
ing paragraph. 3. Cathrine M., born December 29, 1839, who became 
the wife of Adam J. Snell, born February 22, 1828, in the town of 
Manheim, Herkimer county, New York, a son of Joshua and Nancy 
Snell. His career has been devoted to agricultural pursuits in the vil- 
lage of Lafargeville, and he is one of the most prominent farmers in 
that section of the state. They are the parents of one daughter, Emma 
E., who was united in marriage to Dr. Frank M. Vebber, a prominent 
physician of Clayton, New York, and one child has been born to them, 
Lottie Vebber. 4. Henry, born September 4, 1841. in Lafargeville, 
now resides in Depauville, Nevv York. 5. Wendell J., born September 
13, 1844, in Lafargeville, New York, married Mrs. Sarah J. Putnam, 
nee Lingenfelter, of Clayton, New York. She was born in Clayton. 
They have two daughters : Minnie, who became the wife of Peter 
Schultz ; and Georgia, who became the wife of Manford Jerome, of 
Lafargeville. 6. Maria H.. born February 24. 1847. died at the age 
of fifteen years. 7. Henrietta, born July 16. 1849, became the wife 
of Jay Cadwell, of Depauville. New York. Henry Heyl. father of these 
children, died in 1870. aged seventv-four vears. 



250 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

George Heyl, second son of Henry and Kate M. (Heldt) Heyl, 
worked on tlie farm summers and attended school winters until he was 
eighteen years of age. He then removed to Clayton and resided there 
six years. In 1864, at the age of twenty-six years, he married Ruah 
H. Snell, born in Manheim, Herkimer county, New York, daughter of 
John A. Snell. of Lafargeville. They resided on and conducted the 
farm of Mr. Snell up to 1892, and in addition to this operated a farm of 
two hundred and sixty acres which he purchased in conjunction with 
his brother, Henry Heyl. In 1900 he purchased his present custom 
o-rinding mill at Lafargeville, New York, and a steel contrition mill for 
custom grinding, which he conducts successfully, in addition to looking 
after his real estate interests in the town. Mr. Heyl is a member of 
the Lutheran church, an adherent of Democratic principles, and a mem- 
ber of the Grange. 

John A. Snell, father of Mrs. Heyl, was born in Manheim, Herki- 
mer county. New York. He followed the occupation of farming, and 
the last years of his life w-ere spent in Lafargeville, town of Orleans, 
near the present railroad station, where he died in 1894. He was the 
father oi two children : Sophia, who became the wife of Melzer J. 
Henry, of Lafargeville; and Ruah H., aforementioned as the wife oi 
George Hevl. Mrs. Heyl's mother. Mary Youker, was torn in Fulton 
county, a daughter of Jacob P. Youker, who was born in Oppenheim, 
Fulton county, in 1782: he was a tailor by trade, and died May 2, 1850. 
Mrs. Mary Youker Snell died in 1890, aged sixty-six years. She was 
the mother of two children. Her family came from Germany in 1750, 
and were the hrst settlers in Oppenheim. New York. }vlembers of the 
family served in the Revolutionary war. 

Two sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. Heyl, as follows: i. Will- 
iam H., educated in common schools, and is now engaged in farming 
on the old Snell homestead. He married Ida E. Baltz, eldest child of 
George F. and Mary (Haas) Baltz, the former-named havipg been a 
son of Philip, a native of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, and Elizabeth 
(Dorr) Baltz. Two chijdren were 1x)rn to William H. and Ida E. Heyl, 
Alberta May and George F. Heyl. 2. Frank A., educated in common 
schools and Adams Collegiate Institute. He has followed various lines 
of business, and since 1900 has operated his father's mill. He married 
Lottie Bauter, eldest child of Sylvester and Clare (Nash) Banter, and 
one child has been born to them, Clarence F. Heyl. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 251 

D. HENRY LINGENFELTER, a leading manufacturer and mer- 
chant of Lafargeville, whose active relation with business affairs has 
extended over a period of more than half a century, is an honored repre- 
sentative of an old family of German origin. 

His immigrant ancestor, ^lichael Lingenfelter, born in 1750, came 
to America prior to the Revolutionary war and settled in Montgomery 
county. New York, on a portion of an eight hundred acre tract which 
he and his brother purchased. John Lingenfelter, one of his nine chil- 
dren, born in 1780, cultivated the homestead farm, and worked as a 
stone mason. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. He married Elida 
A\'iimie, born in 1785, in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, a daughter 
of Conrad and Elida Winnie. Her father was born in 1749 in the 
same county where he was a farmer during the greater part of his life; 
he died in Cherry Valley, Otsego county, New York, his wife surviving 
him, and dying at the age of ninety-one years. Both were members of 
the Methodist Episcopal church, and were exemplary Christian people. 
John and Elida (Winnie) Lingenfelter were the parents of eight chil- 
dren : I, John, Jr.: 2, Jane A., who became the wife of Lewis Consaul, 
sketch of whom appears in this work; 3. Conrad; 4, Catherine; 5, 
William H., who is written of elsewhere in this work; 6, Obadiah; 7, 
Susan; 8. Daniel H., to be further written of. Mr. Lingenfelter jour- 
neyed to Clayton with his family in 1838, traveling in a sleigh, and 
contracted a cold from the eitects of which he died a few days after 
reaching his destination, in his fifty-eighth year. His widow married 
Rufus Smith, of Lafargeville. 

Daniel Henry Lingenfelter, youngest child of John and Elida (Win- 
nie) Lingenfelter, was born in Amsterdam, Montgomery county. New 
York, November 25, 183 1. He obtained his education in the common 
schools and Lafargeville Academy. At the age of twenty he became an 
apprentice in the wagon shops of Albert Baxter at Lafargeville, under 
whom he sei\'ed for two years and five months, becoming a most capable 
workman. He was not ready, however, to apply himself to his trade, 
and a desire to see something more of the world led him to Rochester, 
where he was for about two years engaged in the construction depart- 
ment of the Rochester & Genessee Valley Railroad. He then returned 
to Clayton, where he worked at his trade for three years, removing in 
1858 to Lafargeville, where he took employment in the wagon shops 
of H. ]\L Krake. with whom he remained for a year. The following 
year he passed in Carthage as a journeyman, and then formed a part- 



252 GENEALOGICAL AND EAMILY HISTORY. 

nership with Joseph Le Flure, with whom he was associated in the 
wagon-making business for three and a half years. At the end of this 
time he went to Stone Mills, where he purchased a farm of two hundred 
and t\\enty-five acres, which he cultivated for five years, then renting it 
and purchasing the general store of E. G. Brown, which he conducted 
successfully for eleven years, then selling it to W. B. Irving. After again 
cultivating his farm for a period of five years, he sold it in March, 1883, 
and removed to Lafargeville. There he rented a blacksmith and wagon 
shop which he operated for two years. At the end of that time he 
purchased a lot and erected his present business house, an edifice thirty 
by eighty feet, two stories high, devoting the ground floor to wagon 
manufacturing and storage rooms, and setting apart the upper story 
as a public hall. In addition to his manufacturing and repair business 
Mr. Lingenfelter acts as agent for a number of leading companies deal- 
ing in wagons, harness, etc., and for more than thirty years he has 
had charge of the sale of agricultural machinery and implements in his 
o\\ n and adjoining towns. In all these departments of his business 
Mr. Lingenfelter has been signally successful, yet it is to be said that 
his good fortune has been due to no adventitious aids, but has been 
well earned through close application, and unflagging industry, skill as 
a mechanic, and sagacious and upright conduct as a merchant. 

Mr. Lingenfelter has been a worthy member of the Masonic frater- 
nity for upwards oi twenty-eight years, and is the oldest living member 
of his lodge (Lafargeville No. 171, F. and A. M.), in which he has 
held the stations of junior and senior deacon, and in which he is senior 
master of ceremonies on all ceremonial occasions. He is a charter 
member of Penett Court No. 1171, Independent Order of Foresters, 
in which he has been chaplain for many years. In his early days he 
was a Democrat in politics, and during the middle fifties he was a promi- 
nent member of the American or "Know-Nothing" party, and assisted 
in organizing two lodges. At the outbreak of the Civil war his patri- 
otic spirit became fully aroused, and he allied himself with the Repub- 
lican party, with which he has constantly affiliated to the present day. 
He was justice of the peace for twelve years, and held all the offices of 
the town, except that of supervisor. 

Mr. Lingenfelter was married in 1855 to Miss Nancy E. Harter, 
who was born in Herkimer county. New York, May 10, 1834. She 
was a daughter of Jacob L. and Katherine fHelmer) Harter. Her 
father was a native of the same county in which his daughter was born. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 253 

He was a clothier and farmer, and passed sixty years of his Hfe upon 
a three hundred acre farm in Stone Mihs, which he purchased in 1834, 
and upon which he died at the phenomenal age of one hundred and five 
years, retaining his faculties almost to the very last. Of his marriage 
to Katherine Helmer were born five children, of whom three are living : 

1. Margaret, who became the wife of N. W. Nellis, of Stone Mills; 

2, Harriet, who became the wife of John Putney, and resides near 
Oswego, New York ; 3, William, who resides at Gunn's Corners. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Lingenfelter were born two children, twin daugh- 
ters : Isabel, who became the wife of Eugene Walrath, of Stone Mills, 
New York, and Arabella. The mother of these children died May 10, 
1S94, on her birthday, at the age of sixty years. She was for many 
years a confirmed invalid and a great sufferer. She bore her sufferings 
with Christian fortitude, tenderly ministered to by her devoted hus- 
band and daughter, Arabella, who since the death of the mother has 
remained at home to care for her father's comfort. Mr. and Mrs. 
Lingenfelter were both Lutherans in religion, and reared their chil- 
dren in the same faith. 

A man of great activity and industry throughout his life, Mr. Lin- 
genfelter has been a particularly important figure in the commercial 
and social life of Lafargeville during his twenty years' residence there, 
and he has borne a full share in the promotion of whatever purpose was 
promising of the betterment of the community. Although past the 
allotted days of man as given by the Psalmist — three score and ten — 
he yet preserves a fine physique, vigorous health, and that unfailing good 
nature and warmth of feeling for his fellows that arms one against the 
slings and arrows of life, and enables him to enjoy the companionships 
which remain, and to appreciate at its full worth the high regard in 
which he is held as a truly model citizen. • 

CORNWALL. Among the prominent and influential families 
who have been residents in the state of New York for many years, and 
who have been instrumental in promoting the best interests of the com- 
munity in which they resided, may be mentioned the name of Cornwall, 
so worthily represented for the greater part of a century by Andrew 
Cornwall, now deceased. 

He was a lineal descendant in the eighth generation of William 
Cornwall, a native of England, who emigraated to this country early 
in the seventeenth century and settled in Middletown, Connecticut, now 



254 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Portland, where three generations of tlie name have resided and died. 
William Cornwall and wife Joane joined the church in Roxbury, Massa- 
chusetts, in 1633. In May, 1633, he was one of the seventy-seven 
soldiers, forty-eight of whom were from Hartford and vicinity, who 
nearly exterminated the Pequot Indians in their fort at Mystic, Con- 
necticut. Shortly after 1637, possibly 1638, he settled in Hartford, 
and in February, 1639. he is found on the records as the sergeant-at- 
arms. In 1650 or 165 1 he removed to Middletown. fifteen miles below 
Hartford, where he owned a large tract of land, probably about twelve 
hundred acres. He was a representative from Middletown in the colonial 
legislature of 1654, 1664 and 1665. and was also constable in 1664. He 
died in Middletown, Connecticut, February 21. 1678, and was interred 
in the old cemetery on the Connecticut river. His will, dated April 7, 
1674, is a remarkable document and is found in the "History of William 
Cornwall and His Descendants," edited by Edward E. Cornwall, M. D., 
issued in 1901. 

William Cornwall (2). son of the immigrant ancestor. William 
Cornwall, was born Januaiy 24, 1641. He was reared by Susanna 
Hooker, widow of the Rev. Thomas Hooker, of the first Hartford 
colony. He settled in Middletown, Connecticut, where he conducted a 
fann successfully for a number of years. On November 30, 1670, he 
married Mary Bull, daughter of William Bull, of Cambridge, Massa- 
chusetts, aiid six children were the issue of this marriage. William Corn- 
wall died January 18, 1691, aged fifty years; he was survived by his 
wife, who passed away in the sixty-eighth year of her age. 

William Cornwall (3), son of W^illiam Cornwall (2), was born 
September 13, 1671. He removed to Portland, Connecticut, prior to 
1700, and settled on land originally owned by his grandfather. He 
served in the capacity of selectman during the years 1727 and 1728. 
He was chairman of the committee of three to build the first meeting 
house in East Middletown, and served as first tithing man. On Janu- 
ary 22, 1692, he was married to Esther Ward, daughter of John Ward, 
and granddaughter of Andrew Ward, who was deputy governor of 
Connecticut with Governor Ludlow in 1634. Eight children were born 
of this union, ^^'illiam Cornwall died July 16, 1747. 

.\ndrew Cornwall (4). son of William Cornwall (3), was born 
June 2, 1700. He was married (first) September 9, 1725, to Elizabeth 
Savage, daughter of \\'illiam Savage, of Upper Middletown, Connecti- 
cut, and her death occurred March 21. 1747. aged fifty-one years. He 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 265 

was married (second) December 27, 1748, to Tabitha Cooper. He 
was the father of six children. He resided in East Middletown, Con- 
necticut, was chosen to fill the office of selectman in the year 1731. and 
his death occurred April 17, 1756. 

Andrew Cornwall (5), son of Andrew Cornwall (4). was born 
August 22, 1735. He was united in marriage October 26, 1756, to 
Lydia Abby, of Chatham, Counecticut, and of the six children born 
to them, 6lie eldest, Daniel Cornwall, was captain of militia, and also 
served in the Continental army. Andrew Cornwall was drowned in 
the Connecticut river on Julv 18, 1768. 

Andrew Cornwall (6), son of Andrew Cornwall (5). was born in 
Connecticut in 1739. During the period of the revolutionary war he 
enhsted his services as a private, and participated in manv engage- 
ments. He was a member of the Connecticut militia, stationed at 
Peekskill, Xew York, from April 7 to May 19, 1777. took part in the 
battles of Bennington and Saratoga, and received a severe wound in the 
former named battle. He died November 3, 1799. 

Andrew Cornwall (7), son of Andrew Cornwall (6), was bap- 
tized July 2, 1786. Accompanied by his two brothers, William and 
Ansel, about the year 1800 he left his native state of Connecticut and 
came to what at that time was called the "far west," of Monroe county, 
New York. They tarried for a short period of time at what is now 
the city of Rochester, where there was a small settlement, but later con- 
tinued their journey, and in 1809 located in Poultneyville, Wayne county. 
New York. Mr. Cornwall was united in marriage to Elizabeth Martin, 
and seven children were born of this union. He died March 22, 1854. 

ANDREW CORNWALL (8), son of Andrew Cornwall (7), was 
born at what is now known as Poultneyville, Wayne county, March 25, 
1814. He attended the district school during the winter and worked 
on the farm during the summer until he attained the age of thirteen 
years. He then became an employe of John Reynolds, the proprietor of 
a country store at Poultneyville, with whom he remained in the capacity 
of clerk and bookkeeper for a period of thirteen years. From a too 
close application to business his health became impaired, and in order to 
recuperate he purchased a small vessel and went on the lakes as a sailor. 
He continued this business for three years, at the end of which time 
he sold his vessel, his health in the meantime having been fully restored. 
In July, 1844, he located in Redwood, New York, entered the employ 
of DeZeng & Burlingame, manufacturers of glass, and for two vears 



256 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

was in charge of their store. In November, 1846. at the sohcitation of 
Azariah Walton, he took up his residence in Alexandria Bay and formed 
a copartnership with Lyman Walton. In 1850 he erected on the site of 
the present building a modern store in which they did business until 
1853, in which year Mr, Azariah Walton died. In addition to their 
mercantile business, they were also engaged in supplying wood to the 
river trai^c, and purchased five thousand acres on Welles Island, the 
smaller islands being added to the sale as of no value. From, these the 
wood was cut, after which the island, upon which now stands the beau- 
tiful summer home of the Pullman family, of Palace car fame, known 
as " Castle Rest," and Hart Island, upon which stands the palatial sum- 
mer home of George C. Boldt, of Waldo Astoria fame, were sold for 
nominal sums, to encourage the purchasers to build, and the present site 
of the far famed Thousand Island Hotel was given away, with the proviso 
that a hotel should be built thereon, this property being given by Charles 
and John Walton and Andrew Cornwall, the two former representing 
their father's estate. Thus it can be seen that to Messrs. Walton and 
Cornwall belongs much of the credit for attracting attention, and laying 
the foundation for the world renowned summer resorts of the beautiful 
St. Lawrence River. 

' After the death of Mr. Walton a new firm was organized under 
the name of Cornwall & Walton, John F. Walton being the junior 
partner, and this connection continued until April i, 1877, when both 
retired from business, and the firm of Cornwall Brothers wa« estab- 
lished. This consisted of the four sons of Andrew Cornwall — Andrew 
C, Charles W., John I., and Harvey A. (sketches of whom follow), 
who are now conducting a thriving business, being general merchants 
and agents for all railroad and steamboat lines centering at Alexandria 
Bay, in addition to dealing in every commodity required in a country 
store. Their present store, erected in 1866, a beautiful stone building 
located on the bank of the St. Lawrence river, is eighty by forty feet, 
two stories high, with basement. In addition to this they have other 
store houses, and also an annex in which they handle coal, wood, lime, 
cement, etc. Being the oldest establishment of its kind in Jefferson 
county, they receive a large share of the patronage of the citizens, and 
during the summer months they probably conduct the most extensive 
business of any concern on the St. Lawrence river, employing thir- 
teen clerks. 

Mr. Cornwall began his business career with verv limited means. 



/^ 1^& 






GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 257 

but by close attention to every detail and with a determination to con- 
tract no bills that could not be met when due, also by incurring no 
unnecessary expense, he succeeded in his business enterprises, enjoyed 
the reputation of being a man of unswerving integrity and unimpeachable 
character, and retired with a comfortable competence for his declining 
years. Such a life is an example well worthy of emulation. 

Mr. Cornwall took an active part in the political affairs of his day 
and time. He was a firm believer in the principles of Democracy, and, 
although that section of Jefferson county in which he resided was 
strongly Republican, he held many offices of trust and responsibility. 
He was appointed postmaster of Alexandria Bay August 29, 1857, 
by President Buchanan, serving during his administration and also 
under President Lincoln, resigning on July i, 1861. He served as 
supervisor from 1852 to 1856, and during the entire period of the Civil 
War from 1861 to 1865, and, although the board was largely Repub- 
lican, was appointed a member of the war committee of the county, and 
served faithfully in recruiting and filling quotas of his own and other 
towns of the county during the years of this great struggle. In 1867 
he was nominated and elected to the legislature, and during the session 
was a member of the committee of ways and means, and the sub-com- 
mittee of the whole, and also one of the committee on the manufacture of 
salt. Such satisfaction did he give while filling these positions, that 
in the fall of 1868 he was nominated for congress against the Hon. 
A. H. Lallin, who waged a bitter warfare in this contest, and Mr. 
Cornwall was defeated, but by a very small majority. He was later a 
candidate for state senator against James A. Bell, of Dexter, New York, 
and although the county was strongly Republican he was defeated by 
only a small majority. 

In January, 1843, ^I''- Cornwall was married to Mary C. Calhoun, 
daughter of Captain Calhoun, of Williamson, Wayne county, New 
York, who was a pensioner of the war of the Revolution, and a captain 
in the war of 1812. Four sons, above mentioned, were the issue of this 
marriage. Islr. Cornwall died September i, 1900, and his wife passed 
away on August 13, 1890. 

ANDREW CALHOUN CORNWALL, eldest son of the late 
Hon. Andrew and Mary C. (Calhoun) Cornwall, was born at Poultney- 
ville, Wayne county. New York, January 2, 1844. He received his 
literary" education m the district schools of Alexandria Bay and in the 
Watertown high school, after which he took a full course in Eastman's 



258 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Mercantile College at Rochester, New York. He entered upon business 
life as a clerk in his father's store, and in 1877 he and his brothers — 
Charles W., John I., and Harvey A. — succeeded to the ownership of the 
business, which they have since conducted under the firm name of Corn- 
wall Brothers, with Andrew C. Cornwall, who looks after the finances 
of the firm. 

On July I, 1869, Mr. Cornwall was married to Miss Julia Fuller, 
of Alexandria Bay, New York, and of this union have been born five 
children: i. Bertha, who became the wife of Sherwood H. Country- 
man, who was a merchant tailor of Three Mile Bay, and their children are 
Helen and Benjamin. 2. Bessie C, who became the wife of H. Fred 
Inglehart, of Watertown, New York, who is engaged in the hotel 
business. 3. Fuller F., a graduate of the high school of Alexandria 
Bay, a school ftt Clinton, and the Military School of Poughkeepsie, and 
is now assistant cashier of the First National Bank of the Thousand 
Islands, mentioned abo\-e. 4. Andrew Raymond, who is a student at 
Cornell, preparing for the liar. 5. Mary, who is a student at Ossinning 
Female Seminary, under the preceptorship of Miss Fuller. 

Mr. Cornwall, in addition to his connection with the firm of Corn- 
wall Brothers, whose business, as it has for a half century past, ranks 
as the leading mercantile industr}^ in that region, is also actively identified 
with various financial houses, serving as president of the First National 
Bank of the Thousand Islands, established by the Cornwall Brothers in 
1900, at Alexandria Bay; a director of the National Bank and Loan 
Company, of Watertown ; and a trustee of the Watertown Savings 
Bank. In 1898 Mr. Cornwall and his brothers enlarged the New Mars- 
den Hotel, which consists of seventy-five rooms, and is modern and 
handsome in all its appointments. At all times Mr. Cornwall has taken 
a leading part in the promotion of community interests, and has afforded 
liberal aid to educational, religious and social institutions. He was 
president of the village for a luimber of years, and also served as town 
supervisor four years. He was chief of the Fire Department of Alex- 
andria Bay a number of years, being one of the organizers of the depart- 
ment and in these various capacities he conducted the duties with the 
same exactness and fidelity which characterized his personal dealings. 
He has attained high rank in the Masonic fraternity, being affiliated with 
Alexandria Lodge, No. 297, in which he has held all offices but master: 
Theresa Chapter, No. 149, R. A. M. : Watertown Commandery, No. 11, 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 259 

K. T. : and also is a Noble of Media Temple, Mystic Shrine. He is also 
a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 

CHARLES W. CORNWALL, second son of the late Andrew and 
Mary (Calhoun) Cornwall, was born at Alexandria Bay, Jefferson 
county, New York, October 30, 1848. He was educated in the common 
schools of his native town, at Union Academy, Belleville, and at East- 
man's Business College of Rochester, New York. In 1866 he began the 
active duties of life by entering the employ of Campbell & Farrell, at 
the present time Campbell & Moulton, a large dry goods firm of Water- 
town, New York, where he ser\ed in the capacity of clerk for five years. 
At the expiration of this period of time he went to Fenton, Michigan, 
with J. V. Buckbee, with whom he remained seven years, and then, in 
partnership with his brother, John I. Cornwall, he purchased the business 
from A'Ir. Buckbee and conducted the same under the style of Cornwall 
Brothers up to 1877. They then disposed of their business and returned 
to Alexandria Bay, and m co-operation with his two bi others, Andrew C. 
and Harvey A., formed the present company of Cornwall Brothers. 
(See sketch of Hon. Andrew C. Cornwall.) 

Mr. Cornwall is a leading man of afifairs in the village of Alexan- 
dria Bay, promoting to the best of his ability numerous enterprises 
which have as their ultimate aim the development of the resources of 
that section of the state. While a resident of Fenton, Michigan, he 
joined a lodge of the Order of Free and Accepted Masons, in 1873, and 
served as deacon of the same. He was granted a demit card, and since 
his residence in New York state has been a member of Alexandria 
Lodge, of which his father was a charter member. He was formerly 
a member of Genesee Chapter of Fenton, and secretary of same, but 
took a demit card to hold membership in Theresa Chapter; he was also 
a member of Genesee Council. He is now a member of Watertown 
Commandery No. 11, K. T. ; and also of Media Temple of the Mystic 
Shrine. He is also connected with the Independent Order of Foresters, 
being a charter member of Court No. 55, of Alexandria Bay, in which 
he has been chief ranger. He is a regular attendant at the services of 
the Dutch Reformed church, to the support of which he contributes 
liberally. 

On July 18, 1879, Mr. Cornwall married Idenella Ellen Hirst, 
daughter of Edward W. and Cornelia (Stewart) Hirst. She is a 
member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, charter member 
and trustee of the Holland Librar>^ of Alexandria Bay, member of the 



260 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Eastern Star, and president of the Ladies' Guild of the Episcopal church. 
Akid Hirst, grandfather of Mrs. Cornwall, was a native of England, 
and after his emigration to America located at Rochester, New York, 
where he was engaged in milling. Subsequently he removed to Fenton, 
Genesee county, Michigan, where he followed the same line of trade, 
being the proprietor of a mill. His death occurred in Fenton, Michigan, 
at the age of eighty years, and his wife. Ellen Hirst, died in Rochester, 
New York, aged twenty-eight years. Edward W. Hirst, father of Mrs. 
Cornwall, was born in Yorkshire, England, and when two years of age 
came with his parents to this country. He followed the occupation of 
milling in Fenton, Michigan, achieving a fair degree of success. During 
the period of the civil war he enlisted his services in behalf of his adopted 
country. He died at Fenton, Michigan, aged seventy-three years. His 
wife, Cordelia (Stewart) Hirst, was born in Fayetteville, Chenango 
county. New York, daughter of Horace and Milinda (Park) Stewart, 
who were the parents of three children — Cordelia, widow oiEdward W. 
Hirst ; Mertcn, a resident of Flint, Michigan ; and George, deceased. 

"Mr. and Mrs. Flirst were the parents of four children, three of 
whom are living at the present time (1904) : Mrs. Cornwall, John H., 
a resident of Holly, Michigan ; and Mrs. Charles Fillingham, a resident 
of Fenton, Michigan, where their mother now resides. Malinda (Park) 
Stewart, maternal grandmother of Mrs. Cornwall, was a daughter of 
George and Hannah (Worden) Park, the latter named having been a 
daughter of Walter and Lucretia (Hakes) Wordem Walter Worden 
was a soldier in the revolutionary war. He served as private in Captain 
Eldridge's company. First Regiment Connecticut Line, from June i, 
1777, to January i, 1778; place of enlistment, Stonington, Connecticut. 
He enlisted again at Hopkinton, Rhode Island, in Captain Joshua 
Babcock's company. Colonel John Topham's regiment, and served as 
private from July 16 to August 16, 1778, and then 'as sergeant in a 
company commanded by Lieutenant Andrew Stanton, in Colonel Top- 
ham's regiment, from January 16 to March 16, 1779. He was ensign 
in Captain Odell's company, Sixth Albany county (New York) regi- 
ment. Colonel Van Rensselaer, as shown by the New York State 
Archives, page 521. In the War of 1812 he served as lieutenant in 
Captain Jehiel Hopping's company. Second Regiment (Buttons') New 
York Militia, from September 29, to November 15, 1813, and as captain 
in Swift and Dobbins' regiment. New York Volunteers, from April 15 
to November i, 1814, enlisting from Manheim, New York. He was 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 261 

killed in the battle of Black Rock, in 1814. Lucretia (Hakes) Worden 
was the daughter of Jonathan and Hannah (Haches) Hakes, the former 
named having been the son of Solomon and Anna Hakes. Solomon 
Hakes was born in England, January 16, 1668, and was the pioneer 
ancestor of the family in the United States. He married Ann Billings, 
of Stonington, Connecticut. Their son, Jonathan, lx)rn there in 1724, 
married Hannah F. Brown, of Westerly, Rhode Island. He died 
in 1778. 

JOHN I. CORNWALL, third son of the late Andrew and Mary C. 
(Calhoun) Cornwall (see sketch under that heading), was born at 
Alex.andria Bay, Jefferson county, New York, July 2, 1850. His educa- 
tional advantages were obtained at the common schools of his native 
town, at the Military Academy, Danbury, Connecticut, at Hungerford 
Collegiate Institute at Adams, New York, and Union Academy at Belle- 
ville. In 1867 he located in Fenton, Genesee county, Michigan, where 
for five years he was employed as a clerk in a general store conducted 
by Josiah Buckbee. In partnership with his brother, Charles W. Corn- 
wall (sketch elsewhere), they purchased the business from Mr. Buckbee 
and continued the management of the same five years. In 1877, upon 
the dissolution of the firm of Cornwall & Walton, of Alexandria Bay, 
they disposed of their business, returned to Alexandria Bay, and became 
partners in the firm of Cornwall Brothers. (See description in sketch 
of Hon. Andrew Cornwall, deceased.) This enormous business is so 
arranged that each of the brothers has a special duty to perform, John I. 
being known as the "outside man," attending to the freight, express, 
baggage, etc., on the dock. In addition to their regular extensive busi- 
ness the firm sell tickets, check baggage, and send express and freight 
to all parts of the United States. 

On October 4, 1883, Mr. Cornwall married Kate Rowley, born at 
Camden, New York, daughter of George Rowley and Mary Carpenter 
Rowley, and they are the parents of one son, George R. Cornwall, a 
student. George Rowley, father of Mrs. Cornwall, is a retired Con- 
gregational minister, resides with John I. Cornwall and his wife, and 
although in his eighty-fifth year is well preserved. He held pastorates 
in Camden, Richville, Norfolk, and Carthage, all in New York state, 
and after ten years' service in the last named place retired from active 
mmisterial duties. He was the father of three children: Ehzal>eth, 
who makes her home with Mr. and Mrs. Cornwall; Kate, aforemen- 
tioned as the wife of John I. Cornwall ; and Minnie, wife of Harrv E. 



26-2 GENEALOGICAL AXD FAMILY HISTORY. 

Ealer, wiio has cliarge of the Magnetic Iron Ore ]Mines at Benson Mines, 
New York. 

Mr. Cornwall has always taken as active and prominent part in 
Masonic circles, and is now a member of .\lexandria Bay Lodge. He 
was formerly a member of Fentonville Lodge, No. 109, of which he was 
secretary, also a member of Fentonville Chapter, No. 29, in which he held 
the office of captain of the host. At the present time he is affiliated with 
Theresa Chapter and Watertown Commandery, and has passed through 
all the Scottish Rite bodies including the thirty-second degree ; he is 
well known in this branch of the order, being the present (1903) master 
of ceremonies. He is a member of the Independent Order of Foresters, 
a charter member, and financial secretary for twelve years, and now treas- 
urer. He was chief of the Fire Department two terms, resigning his 
incumbency in 1904. He is a director of the Thousand Island Bank of 
.Alexandria Bay, New York. He built his present handsome and com- 
modious residence in 1901. He attends the Presbyterian church. 

HARVEY A. CORNWALL, fourth son of the late Andrew and 
Mary C. (Calhoun) Cornwall, was born in Alexandria Bay, Jeiiferson 
county, New York, July i, 1S55. He obtained a thorough English edu- 
cation in the common schools of Alexandria Bay, Hungerford Collegiate 
Institute of Adams, New York, and Williams Business College of Roch- 
ester, New York, from which institution he was graduated in 1875. The 
first year of his business career was spent as clerk in his father's store, 
and the follovijing six months he was a clerk with his brothers, Charles W. 
and John I., in a general store at Fentonville, Michigan. In 1877 he 
returned to Alexandria Bay, New York, and assisted in the formation of 
the present firm of Cornwall Brothers, of which he is a member. For 
a full description of this enterprise see the sketch of his father. Hon. 
Andrew Cornwall, deceased. 

In September, 1879, Mr. Cornwall married Georgianna Davenport, 
born at Evans' Mills, New York, the only surviving child of the late 
John T. Davenport, who was an early settler and a prominent farmer 
of that section of the state. Mr. and Mrs. Cornwall have two children : 
Flerald D., wdio graduated from Cascachilla Institute, Ithaca, New York, 
where he prepared for Cornell University, and in 1903 graduated from 
the Law Department of Syracuse University of Syracuse, New York, 
and was admitted to practice in October. 1903. and is now following his 
profession in Syracuse. New^ York. Leon H., a graduate from the high 
school of .Mcxandria Bay, and now a student in the class of 1907 at 



. -iiV' 




GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 263 

the Syracuse University. ;\Irs. Cornwall is a member of the Reformed 
church. 

Air. Cornwall is a director of the Thousand Island Bank of Alex- 
andria Bay, also a stockholder of various other financial enterprises in 
Watertown, New York, including the National Bank and Loan Com- 
pany, and the Jefferson County Bank. The esteem in which he is held 
by his fellow-townsmen is evidenced by the fact that in 1892 he was 
chosen to fill the responsible office of president of the village, and so 
faithfully did he perform the duties allotted to him that he is still (1904) 
the incumbent of this position. He has twice been chosen as a candidate 
for the office of supervisor, but has declined the honor each time. His 
interest in fraternal organizations is shown by his holding membership 
in the Masonic fraternity, being affiliated with Alexander Bay Lodge, 
No. 297, F. and A. M. ; Theresa Chapter, No. 149, R. A. M. ; Watertown 
Commandery, No. 11, K. T., and Media Temple. Mystic Shrine. He is 
a member of the Ancient Order of Foresters, Thousand Island Court, of 
Alexandria Bay, and a charter member of Hopewell Hall, Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows. His political at^liations are with the Demo- 
cratic party. 

DLMSTER FAILING, a retired farmer of Jefferson county, New 
York, resides in the town of Clayton, two miles from Depauville, on 
the main road to Stone Mills. He was born in Pamelia, New York, 
j\Iarch 7, 1844. 

The paternal great-grandfather of Demster Failing participated in 
the Revolutionary war, and after being taken prisoner by the Indians 
was conveyed to Canada, where he was sold for whiskey. After being 
kept in bondage about four years he was redeemed and sent home, and 
shortly afterward married a girl by the name of Smith. He then 
purchased a farm which he cultivated until he was eighty years of age, 
at which time he sold it and moved to Jefiferson county, where he died 
in the eighty-fifth year of his age. 

John Failing, grandfather of Demster Failing, moved from the 
town of St. Johnsville. Montgomery county, to the town of Pamelia, 
Jefferson county, where he purchased a large dairy farm. This he 
operated for about fifty years, and at the end of this long period of time 
he retired from active pursuits, having accjuired a good property. He 
married Catherine Elwood, and they reared 'a family of eight children, 



264 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

three girls and five toys. His death occurred in the town of Antwerp, 
Jefferson county, at the advanced age of ninety-two years. 

Benjamin E. Faihng, father of Demster Failing, was born in St. 
Johnsville, Montgomery county, New York, in 1812. He resided there 
until eight years old, at which time he came with his father to Pamelia, 
Jefferson county, where he remained until thirty years of age, the 
greater portion of this time being devoted to agricultural pursuits, which 
he conducted in connection with his father. In 1837 he came to Clayton 
and purchased a farm, which he cleared off and cultivated to a high 
state of perfection, looking after the same up to the present time (1904). 
He remained a resident of that town until 1894, a period of fifty-seven 
years, and then removed to Lafargeville, where he has since resided, 
and although he has attained the advanced age of eighty-four is well 
preserved and acti\e. His wife, Lucy Ann (Augsbury) Failing, who 
is also living at the present time, a daughter of Abram Augsbury, of 
Pamelia, New York, bore him four children, as follows : Louisa, de- 
ceased ; Demster, mentioned at length hereinafter ; Spencer, who resided 
in the vicinity of the home of his brother Demster: and Ida. who resides 
in Lafargeville. 

Demster Failing was reared on the farm owned by his parents, 
and his education was acquired in the common and select schools of the 
neighborhood. In 1866 he purchased a farm of one hundred and seven 
acres devoted to general farming and the raising of hay and grain, 
and here he resided until 1896, in which year he purchased a tract of 
land in Lafargeville, which he cultivated and improved for a number 
of years. For three years he served as collector of taxes, and for a 
period of time was district school trustee and chairman of the board. 
He has always taken an active interest in educational affairs, and has 
aided materially in advancing that cause in the section of the county 
in which he resides. His political views are in accord with the prin- 
ciples laid down by the Republican party. Mr. Failing is a man of 
intelligence and sound common sense, a practical and progressive farmer, 
a capable business man, and a public-spirited citizen. 

Mr. Failing was united in marriage to Almedia Tahash, who was 
born in Alexandria, New York, daughter of Joseph and Sally (Matice) 
Tahash, and one child was the issue of this union: Ernest B., born 
October 4. 1874. He was educated in the common schools of Clayton 
and Depauville, and after completing his studies turned his attention 
to the raising of chickens on his father's farm, being now the possessor 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 265 

of one of the most extensive chicken-raising farms in Jefferson county. 
He is the owner of two thousand chickens which he raised, and he also 
raised a large flock of Belgian hares, three hundred of which he shipped 
to New York. Ernest B. Failing married Millie Cook, a native of 
Clayton, New York, and daughter of Edwin Cook, an expert mechanic 
and plumber, residing in Clayton. Mr. and Mrs. Demster Failing hold 
membership in the Grange. 

Joseph Tahash, father of Mrs. Demster Failing, was a shoemaker 
by trade. He spent some years in this section of New York state, but 
during the latter years of his life resided in Michigan, where his death 
occurred in the ninety-third year of his age. His wife, Sally (Matice) 
Tahash, also died in Michigan, having attained the age of three score 
years and ten. They were the parents of eleven children, five of whom 
are living, among them being Maria, who became the wife of Jackson 
Makepeace, of Theresa, New York. 

DR. HENRY H. DEANE, a prominent physician of Watertown, 
Jefferson county. New York, was born in Swanton, Franklin county, 
Vermont, May 20, 1850, a son of Daniel and Lydia (Wheelock) Deane, 
a grandson of Josiah Dwight and Susanna (Walker) Deane, and great- 
grandson of Dr. Silas Deane. Dr. Silas Deane was born in Upton, 
Massachusetts, where he practiced his profession as a physician and 
surgeon. 

Josiah D'wite Deane (grandfather) was born in Upton, Massachu- 
setts, and came to Clarendon, Vermont, which was originally settled by 
pioneers from Rhode Island, among whom was his wife's father. Sub- 
sequently Josiah Dwite Deane came to St. Albans, where he devoted his 
time and attention to farming, clearing a farm some two miles north 
of where the village of St. Albans is now. Susanna (Walker) Deane, 
who was born in Providence, Rhode Island, bore him nine children — - 
four girls and five boys. Mr. Deane was accidentally killed at Cumber- 
land, when about fifty-eight years of age, and the death of his wife 
occurred about i860, at about eighty-eight years of age. 

Daniel Deane (father) was born September 6, 1798, in St. Albans, 
Vermont. He was reared and educated in his native town and learned 
the tanner's and currier's trade, which he followed all his life. He 
removed from St. Albans to Stowe. then to Waterbury, to Swanton, 
and finally to Highgate, in each of which places he built a tannery. He 
was united in marriage to Lydia Wheelock, who was born in Bakers- 



266 GEXEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

field. Vermont, June J. iSii, daugliter of piloses and Faithful (Knight) 
Wheelock, both of whom came from Westmoreland, near Keene. Xew 
Hampshire. Closes Wheelock was a pioneer and took up land where 
Bakersfield now stands, owned and operated a large farm, and here 
resided up to tlie time of his death at eighty years of age. His wife, 
who boie him a family of nine children, all of whom are now deceased 
except one daughter, died at the extreme old age of ninety-eight years. 
Six children were born to Daniel and Lydia Deane, five of whom are 
living, namely: Susan L., widow of Levi Bordo, of Highgate; Burton 
E., a resident of Sw^anton, Vermont; Henry H., mentioned hereinafter; 
Tyler ]\1., a resident of Providence, Rhode Island, and Artemus W., 
who follows the profession of dentist in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 
Daniel Deane died at the old home in St. Albans, Vermont, in his 
se\enty-eighth year. His wife passed away in her eighty-third year. 

Henry H. Deane attended the common and select schools of High- 
gate, the Academy in St. Albans, the Burlington High School, where 
he was fitted for college, and entered the University of Vermout with 
the class of 'yy, taking an elective course. He taught school for four 
years, and at the same time read law and medicine — first law with 
Messrs. Fitch and Newton, attorneys of Highgate, and then medicine 
in the office of Henry Baxter, of Highgate. Subsequently he registered 
in the office of Dr. Samuel W. Thayer, of Burlington, and took the 
private and public course in the Medical Department of the University 
of Vermont, graduating in 1876. He was elected Demonstrator of 
Anatomy in the University of Vermont, Medical Department. In 1877 
he came to Watertown, Jefiferson county, New York, where he has 
since resided. He has testified as a medical expert in more cases than 
any other man in practice to-day in this part of the state, and has gained 
a reputation in that direction. During his career he has made a specialty 
of forensic medicine. He is a member of the Medical Society of Jefifer- 
son county, served as president and vice-president, and was secretary 
ten years; and was delegate to the Medical Society of the State of New 
York, of which he is a prominent member. His writings have been 
confined to medical subjects, and these papers have been read before the 
societies to which he belongs. 

Dr. Deane has not only attained a prominent professional practice 
in the city, but has also been called to fill several places of puljlic trust. 
He was elected city physician and held the ofifice four years, and during 
Cleveland's first administration was appointed pension examiner, which 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. ii67 

lie also held four years. He was elected health qfficer of the city about 
1880, and efficiently filled the office for ten years. He is a Democrat 
in his political affiliations. 

On December 27, 1876, Dr. Deane married Ida Isl. Bolton, who 
was born in Watertown, Jefferson county, in 1856, daughter of Stephen 
H. Bolton and his wife Sarah A. (Cramer) Bolton. Their children 
are: Etta, her father's assistant and typewriter: Ida, a trained nurse 
and assistant superintendent in the hospital (House of the Good Samari- 
tan) ; Grace, a student in the University of Vermont; Henry, a stu- 
dent in the high school, and Susie, in the grammar school and at home 
with her parents. 

Stephen H. Bolton was born in Jefferson county, in 1829, a son of 
Isaac Bolton, who was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and, came 
in 1808 to Philadelphia, Jefferson county, New York, with his father, 
Joseph Bolton, a pioneer. Stephen H. Bolton was a miller at Winooski, 
Vermont, from whence he came to Potsdam, built a mill at the Junction, 
and traveled in the milling interest out west for a time. While residing 
in the west he conducted roller mills in Canton and Cleveland, Ohio; 
and Ouincy, Illinois. Upon his return to Watertown he built a roller 
mill m which Dr. Deane put in quite an amount of capital and lost all 
by so doing. He is now liA'ing in Watertown, aged seventy-five years. 
His wife, Sarah .\. (Cramer) Bolton, was born in Watertown, New 
York, in 1825, daughter of Jacob Cramer, a contractor and bridge 
builder for the R. W. and O. R. R. Company. He built the Woodruff 
House, Trinity church, and also the Baptist church. Mrs. Bolton was 
the mother of three children — Mrs. W. D. Tyler, deceased; Mrs. Dr. 
Deane, and Stephen, who conducts a drug store in Watertown. She 
died June 10, 1903, aged seventy-three years. 

MILO AIcCUMBER, deceased, for many years a highly respected 
citizen and progressive agriculturist of Clayton, Jefferson county. New 
York, v,as born June 24, 1824, in Henderson, New York. 

He obtained a practical education in the common schools of Hen- 
derson, New York. His early years were passed upon a farm, now the 
home of his widow, M.rs. Milo McCumber, to which he came as a child 
with his parents. He assisted his father in the various duties of his 
daily life, and looked after his comfort with filial devotion during his 
declining years. He then took charge of the farm of two hundred and 
sixty acres and gave his attention to breeding fine horses ; brought the 



268 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

land up to a high state of cultivation, and improved and modernized the 
buildings, and being an active and energetic man achieved a large de- 
gree of financial success in these operations. He took a great interest 
in political affairs, and was held in the highest esteem by all who knew 
him. 

Mr. McCumber married, September 12, 1855, Miss Helen M. 
Payne, a native of Clayton, New York. She received a liberal educa- 
tion, and is known as a woman of refinement and culture. Throughout 
her life she has been an intelligent and critical reader of the best litera- 
ture, besides taking a deep interest in all matters of current interest. 
Retaining the charm of her youth, and her excellent conversational 
powers, her presence affords pleasure to whatever circle of friends may 
gather about her. In her young womanhood she was an accomplished 
educator, and left an mdelible impression for good upon the youth 
who grew up about her, having been a successful school teacher for 
twenty-three terms, some of twenty-two w-eeks each — probably a longer 
period than any other female teacher in Jefferson county now living. 

Mrs. McCumber has long survived the husband of her youth, 
whose death occurred February 7, 1882. The esteem in which he was 
held found the following expression, record of which appears upon the 
books of Depauville Lodge No. 688, F. and A. M., of which the lamented 
deceased was an honored member : 

"A few brief remarks were made upon the sad event which caused 
the craft to assemble, by Bros. L. E. Frame, Byron Fox and Gustavus 
Wetterhahn, expressing sympathy to his wife, relatives and friends, and 
tlie following resolutions were adopted : 

"Whereas, in the providence of God, beneath whose mighty hand 
we bow in humble submission to the sudden death of our esteemed and 
worthy brother, Milo McCumber, an event which has wrapped this lodge 
in profound gloom, and carried sorrow unspeakable to a happy home; 
and, whereas, by this visitation death has taken from our midst a most 
worthy brother, whose sterling qualities and general true-heartedness 
it is a melancholy satisfaction to speak : without ostentation, but with a 
kind word and bright smile for all; with a brave heart and a pure life, 
our brother has gone to the 'Silent Land.' 

"Resolved, that the death of Mr. McCumber has taken from the 
fraternity a true and a faithful member, and from the community in 
which he lived an honored citizen whose memory will be cherished for 
his manly virtues." 

Milo McCumber was a son of George W. and Avenda (McNitt) 
McCumber, the former named having been born in Rhode Island, one 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 209 

of four children, the names of the others being as follows : Dyre, Solo- 
mon, and James McCumber. The father was reared on a farm, and 
came to Henderson, New York, vhere his father was a pioneer and 
cleared a large section of land. He also served in the capacity of teacher 
in Henderson and Elhsburg, and came to the present home of the widow 
of his son Milo, where there were two log houses. Here he cleared 
land, and in 1848 built the house which is now standing. He was suc- 
cessful in his farming operations, and at the time of his death in 185 1, 
at the age of sixty-five years, was the owner of two hundred and four- 
teen acres of valuable land. He was a Republican in politics, and took 
an active interest in the affairs of that party. His wife, Avenda 
(McNitt) McCumber, born in Smithville, New York, was a daughter 
of Captain Samuel McNitt, who was in command of a company at the 
battle of Sacketts Harbor. He was the type of a perfect soldier, and 
later had charge of the lighthouse at Sacketts Harbor, where his death 
occurred at the age of ninety-eight years. Their children were as fol- 
lows: I. Milo, mentioned at length hereinbefore. 2. Mary, who 
became the wife of Thomas Dobson, and resides at Grand Rapids, Mich- 
igan. 3. Helen, widow of the late George Whittier. 4. George F. 

George F. McCumber, who now resides with Mrs. Milo McCum- 
ber, spent his early years on a farm, coming from Henderson, New 
York, with his father ; later he purchased a farm of fifty acres, which he 
conducted for a number of years, then sold it and bought one hundred 
and forty-four acres, which he operated for five years, and since then 
he has made his home with Mrs. Milo McCumber. December 15, 1855, 
he married Lucy Alversop, who was born in Ellisburg, New York, 
daughter of Willard and Lois (Greenleaf) Alverson, who died in 1879, 
aged seventy-nine years; Alverson died aged eighty-seven years. (For 
Greenleaf genealogy see sketch of L. C. Greenleaf, elsewhere.) The 
following named children w^ere born to George F. and Lucy (Alverson) 
McCumber : 

1. Lois, wife of Fred Fox, a farmer of Black River, and their 
children are: Lucy, wife of Fred Dorr; Lottie, wife of Fred Knulty, 
and mother of two children, John Leslie and Lucille E; Roy, who 
resides with his parents. 

2. Flora, wife of Fred G. King, who was born in Stone Mills, 
town of Orleans, December 24, 1853. son of Dr. Frederick King, born 
and educated in Germany, later came to America, and settled at Stone 
Mills, where he practiced his profession until his death at the age of 
thirty-one years. Marcia (Haas) King, wife of Dr. Frederick King, 



270 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

was born in Clayton. New York, daughter of Henry Haas, and was 
the mother of three sons, two living, namely: Frederick G. and F. P.. 
engaged in the clothing business in Watertown, New York, where the 
mother still resides. Frederick G. King was educated in the public 
schools, and on June 3. 1879, was united in marriage to Flora ]\IcCum- 
ber, as above stated, since which time he has conducted the farm of 
Mrs. Milo McCumber, with whom Flora made her home for many 
years previous to her marriage, having taught school from the age of 
fifteen to seventeen. Mr. and Mrs. Frederick G. King have one son, 
Henry M.. born September 14. 1883. He was educated in the common 
school and the Clayton high school and training class, from which he 
graduated, and m 1904 began teaching in Depauville, New York. 

3. Ida, wife of William Esseltine, of Watertown, New York, an 
engineer, and three children were born to them, two of whom are living 
— Max. and Albert Esseltine. 

4. Anna, wife of Charles Lane of Henderson. New York, a 
farmer; they have one child, William Lane. 

Mrs. Helen M. (Payne) McCumber. relict of Milo McCumber, 
was a daughter qf Elijah Payne. He was born in Hamilton, Madison 
county. New York, April 10, 1799. He followed farming all his life. 
He came to Clayton. Jefiferson county, as a pioneer in 1822, and died 
there July 29. 1837. aged thirty-eight years. His wife, Margaret (Wal- 
lace) Payne, born in Ellington, Tolland county. Connecticut, daughter 
of William and Mary (Putnam) Wallace, was a sister of General Put- 
nam, of revolutionary fame. Their children were: i. Cordelia, who 
became the wife of Austin Nicholas : she died in Watertown at the age 
of seventy-two years. 2. Harriet C, who was married three times, 
her third husband being Willson Isham; she died in Watertown at the 
age of seventy-seven years. 3. Helen M.. who became the wife of 
Milo McCumber. 4. Mary, who married Addison Wicks, of Malone, 
Franklin county. New York: she died at the age of thirty-nine years. 
3. Albert E.. who died aged nine years. 

Mrs. McCumber was a member of the Payne family who resided 
in Madison county. New York, and was also related to those who 
resided in Putnam, Vermont. Her grandfather, Elisha Payne, whose 
memory grows brighter as years go by, was a lineal descendant of one 
of three brothers by the name of Payne who settled in Plymouth as 
early as 162 1, and who were forced to leave England from the same 
cause that drove the Pilgrims to a home in the new world. Elisha 
Payne was born in North End. Dutchess county. New York, December 
3. 1762. a son of Abraham and Rebecca Payne, natives of Connecticut. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 271 

Abraham Payne was born in 1722. and died in Hamilton, April 21. 
1801, aged eighty years, and his wife died December 25, 1810, aged 
eighty-six years. They settled in Dutchess county in 1760. They had 
four sons and four daughters. 

Elisha Payne (grandfather) was the youngest child. He and his 
brother Samuel cared for their parents. Elisha had but few educational 
advantages, only those of the common school. On September 17, 
1787, he married (first) Polly Brooks, of Essex, Connecticut, who was 
born January 12, 1766, and died May 9, 1796. Her children were: 
Abram, John, Samuel and Mary. On August 17, 1796, he married 
(second) Esther Douglas, daughter of the Rev. Caleb Douglas, of 
Whitestcwn, one of the pioneers of the section, and a descendant of 
the Douglas family of Scotland. Esther was born July 25, 1778, and 
died at Hamilton, September 12, 1853. She had fourteen children, 
twelve sons and two daughters, two of whom died in infancy. Their 
children were: Elijah, deceased, father of Mrs. McCumber; Elisha, 
resided in Clinton, New York; Mansfield, deceased; Joseph, resided in 
Seneca Falls, New York; Nelson, resided in Auburn, New York; 
Charles C, resided in Hamilton, New York; Thomas, resided in Illinois; 
Maria, deceased; Henry B., resided in Cleveland, Ohio; William, de- 
ceased; Esther, deceased; and Edwin, who was a resident of Dayton, 
Ohio, deceased. Seven of the abo\-e named lived to be over eighty 
years of age. 

In 1794 Samuel Payne settled in a dense forest near where the 
village of Hamilton now stands, and Elisha came the next year. This 
locality was called the Payne settlement, but a few years later Eh'^ha 
Payne changed the name to that of Hamilton in honor of the great 
statesman he admired. Alexander Hamilton. Elisha Payne built a rude 
log house where they resided for a short time, but subsequently erected 
a more commodious residence on the corner occupied by the Smith 
Block, where he conducted a tavern for several years. He donated land 
for a park, which is a beautiful addition to the village, and the same 
was used for many years by the militia of the adjoining towns as a 
parade ground. Mr. Payne also gave ground for a cemetery, known 
as the Old Burying Ground, and Elisha Payne's first wife Polly (Brook) 
Payne was the first one buried there. He was a strong advocate for 
the building of a turnpike from Cherry Valley to Hamilton, and was a 
friend to education, establishing an academy and the Baptist Educa- 
tional Societv of New York State. He served the last named bodv as 



272 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

a trustee, and the board of trustees adopted the following resolutions : 
"Resolved, that Elisha Payne, of Hamilton, Charles Babcock, of New 
Hartford, and Squire Monroe, of Camelus, be appointed a committee 
to select the location for the Seminary (Oneida, Madison, Onondaga 
and Cayuga counties) and report to this board next session." It was 
owing to his influence and great success in securing subscriptions to the 
society that the seminary was finally located at Hamilton. In politics 
I\Ir. Payne was a Federalist, and later a Whig, taking an active part and 
being a leader of the party in the county for years. He was chosen 
chairman of all meetings of importance. He was one of the first judges 
of the court of common pleas, which office he held for nine years, being 
appointed by Morgan Lewis, Governor, March 31, 1806. In the early 
years of his residence the people bestowed on him several offices of 
trust and honor, but in the closing years of his life he declined all 
offices of a public nature, devoting his time to the cause of Christianity. 
He was the founder of the Baptist church of Hamilton, and supported 
and assisted in building three churches in Hamilton. In his domestic 
life he was a kind husband and a loving father, teaching his children 
by his upright example the value and importance of virtue, and inspir- 
ing them with worthy ambition to be men and women in the loftiest 
sense of the word. His teaching will not be forgotten, but is fully 
exemplified in his children. His death occurred June 2, 18 10, at Ham- 
ilton, New York. 

GAYLORD WILLIAM HALL. Successful and enterprising as 
a business man, a*:ive and public-spirited as a citizen, the name of Gay- 
lord W. Hall is a familiar one to all residents of Antwerp. His an- 
cestors on both sides vfere numbered among the hardy pioneers of the 
Green Mountain State. 

Hiram Hall was born January 3, 1809, in Whitingham, Vermont, 
and early in life came to Jefiferson county. New York. Subsequently 
he removed to St. Lawrence county, settled in Somerville, and engaged 
in the manufacture of furniture. In 1871 he came to Antwerp, where 
he ^yas actively employed during his later years. He was a life-long 
supporter of Republican principles and an active member of the Method- 
ist Episcopal church, to the support of which he contributed largely. 
His wife was Lestina Goodenough, a native of the same place as him- 
self, where she was born July 25, 1812. In her youth she came to 
Gouverneur, St. Lawrence county, with her parents, Asa and Lydia 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORy. 273 

Goodenough. She was married to Mr. Hall in Gouvernenr, November 
19, 1831. Nine children were born to them, two of whoin died in in- 
fancy. The others were ; Sophronia, who is the wife of Henry A. 
Baldwin, of Bnffalo; Houghton, who is engaged in the timber business 
in Marion, North Carolina; Diana S., who is the widow of Allen Rogers 
of Antwerp; Marietta, who is the wife of A. E. Comins, a bookkeeper 
of Ogdensburg, New York; Charles W., who lives in Antwerp, and 
is in business with his brother, Gaylord VV., who is the next in order 
of succession in the family, and is mentioned at length hereinafter ; and 
Hiram M'., who is a traveling salesman of Canajoharie, New York. 
Mr. Hall, the father of this family, died in 1881, leaving behind him 
the memory of a truly good man and a useful citizen. His widow is 
still living at the venerable age of ninety-one years. 

Gaylord W. Hall, son nf Hiram and Lestina (Goodenough) Hall, 
was born February 22, 185 1, in Somerville. St. Lawrence county, where 
he received his education, and on leaving school engaged in business 
with his father. He has ever since been actively and continuously iden- 
tihed with the furniture trade, and is now at the head of a flourishing 
store, which is the only one of its kind in Antwerp, having attached to 
the main business a department of undertaking supplies. In politics Mr. 
Hall is a Republican, and takes an active interest in the affairs of the 
organization. For thirteen years he has held the office of town clerk. 
He and his \vife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in 
which for many years he has served as trustee. 

Mr. Hall married, October 30, 1872, Martha B. Hunt, daughter 
of H. Stoughton Hunt, and three children have been born to them : 
Herbert F., who died at the age of fourteen years; Marion M., who was 
born February 21, 1884; and Harry S., who was born December 14, 
1888. 

Mrs. Hall belongs to a well-known J\Iassachusetts family which 
traces its descent from Hon. John Clauson Hunt, a member of the 
general court. His son Jonathan emigrated to Connecticut, where 
he took a leading part in public affairs, and was made the fifth governor 
of the colony. He was active in the church, in which from 1680 to 
1691 he held the office of deacon. Emory Hunt, son of Jonathan, 
was the father of Simeon and the grandfather of Gad. Elihu Hunt, 
son of Gad, was the father of Horace Stoughton, who was born in 
Coventry, Connecticut, and m early life came to Jefferson county, where 
he eneaeed in business as a clothine merchant in Watertown. He mar- 



274 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

ried, in 1832, Harriet L. Bailey, of Sangerfield, Oneida county, and they 
were the parents of a large family, of whom the following are living: 
Horace H., who resides in Costa Rica; Clarissa, who is the widow of 
Dr. Whitton of Chicago ; Emma L., who married Jesse J. Hazel ; Theo- 
dore L., a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work; Julia D., 
who is the widow of George Pierson and lives in Hardin, Iowa ; and 
Martha B., who married Gaylcrd W. Hall, as mentioned above. Mrs. 
Hall was born in Rodman, August 15, 1852. Mrs. Hunt died at the 
early age of thirty-nine, and Mr. Hunt subsequently married Esther 
Van Hoosen. After an eventful and honorable career Mr. Hunt died 
in St. Paul, Minnesota, at the very advanced age of ninety years. 

PRESCOTT PATCH, who has for more than a quarter of a 
century been numbered among the prosperous farmers and worthy 
citizens of Depauville, New York, is of English ancestry, his great- 
grandfather on the paternal side having been a native of Yarmouth, 
England, whence, at the end of the eighteenth century, he emigrated 
to Vermont, where he made his home and where some of his descendants 
still reside. 

Ephraim Patch, son of the emigrant ancestor, was born Febru- 
ary 12, 1785, in \'ermont. He was a farmer and a pioneer, being one 
oi the first to settle in the northern part of the state. He made his 
home near Hyde Park, where he was the owner of a large tract of land, 
which he cleared and cultivated. He married Sarah Cram, who was 
born in Vermont, August 8, 1789. The family to which she belonged 
was a numerous one, but the records regarding it are meagre. Mr. 
and Mrs. Patch were the parents of the following children : Thomas, 
Leland, Ephraim, Jr., Joseph, Asa, Betsy, Huldah, Lydia, Hannah, 
Lucinda and William mentioned at length hereinafter. Ephraim Patch, 
the father of these eleven children, closed his life of enterprising and 
self-denying endeavor in 1868. 

William Patch, son of Ephraim and Sarah (Cram) Patch, was 
born May 19, 181 1, in Johnson, Vermont, and received his education 
in Ware, New Hampshire, where he passed his early life as a farmer. 
He afterward moved his family to Depauville, New York, to a farm 
now owned by Prescott Patch. He married, in 1832, Elizabeth, born in 
November, 1815, in New Boston, New Hampshire, daughter of Thomas 
Giddings, a merchant of that place, and the father of a large family. 
The followir.g children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Patch : 



GENEALOGICAL AXD FAMILY LIISTORY. 275 

1. Salomie, born December i8, 1837, became the wife of George 
Haas; he is now deceased, and she resides with Prescott Patch; they 
were the parents of two sons, one of wiiom died in infancy, and the other, 
Charles, married EHza Houghton. 

2. John, born May 5, 1840, in Ware, New Hampshire, was six 
years old when his parents came to Depauville, where he obtained his 
education in the common schools, and he is now a very successful farmer 
and the possessor of a desirable home in the centre of the village. He 
married Jane, born January 25, 1843, daughter of John and Alice 
(Bickford) Somers, who were the parents of nine children, only three 
of whom, including Mrs. John Patch, are now living, the two others 
being William, born in Brockville, Canada, married Mary Ranson, and 
Eliza, born in Junetown, Canada, married Thomas Franklin. John and 
Jane (Somers) Patch have three children living: (a) Edna, born De- 
cember 14, 1870, married (first) Charles Dewey, and they were the 
parents of one child, Harriette; Edna Dewey was left a widow and 
married (second) Charles Norton, of Depauville; (b) Minnie, born 
December 19, 1881, was educated in the common schools, and is now 
a clerk in the store of Walton & Potter, of Depauville. (c) Adelaide, 
born February 9, 18 — , recei\ed primary education in the common 
schools, graduated in 1901 from Clayton Academy, went through the 
training class, taught for two years, and is now taking a higher course 
in Potsdam (New York) Normal School. 

3. Allen, born May 17, 1842, married Sophronia B. Gloyd. born in 
1843, 3nd was the father of three children — William J.. Bertha and 
Salomie — all of whom are now living in Clayton. Allen Patch died 
September 30, 1901. 

4. Prescott, mentioned at length hereinafter. Mr. Patch, the 
father of the family, died about 1890. 

Prescott Patch, son of William and Elizabeth (Giddings) Patch, 
was born March 12. 1844, in South Ware. New Hampshire, and received 
his early education in the common schools of Watertown, New York, 
afterwards attending for a number of years the Jefiferson County In- 
stitute. At the age of seventeen he began teaching, in which vocation 
he was engaged for about eight years. During that period he was 
employed as an instructor in nearly every school in Jefferson county, 
his efficiency as an educator causing his services to be in great demand. 
Desiring to adopt another plan of life, he returned to the old homestead 
and remained there with his brother some years. He then removed to 
Alexandria Bay and purchased a fine farm, in the cultivation of which 
he was notably successful. This he conducted for twelve years, after 
which he returned to the old homestead of seventy-five acres, on which 
he resided until July 5. 1892, when he rented his farm and removed 



276 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

lo De))aii\ ille, ^\here he has since made his home. The favorable resuhs 
which have crowned his efforts have been produced by unflagging 
industry, mdomitable perseverance, scientific knowledge and practical 
ability. He takes an active interest in ever3-thing relating to the public 
weltare, and his townsmen have testified to their appreciation of his 
good citizenship by electing him to the offices of road commissioner and 
assessor, holding the latter position for one term — three years. He 
is a member of the Depauville Grange, No. 59. He belongs to the 
Masonic fraternity, afinliating with Depauville Lodge. Xo. 688, Free 
and Accepted Masons, and was elected worshipful master in 1900, and 
re-elected for three other successive terms. 

;\Ir. Patch married, March 7, 1871, Olive C, daughter of George 
W. and Sally (\\'adly) Bent, of Depauville, formerly of Watertown, 
.'New York. The family of ilr. and ]\Irs. Bent consisted of the following 
children : George W., Jr., formerly of Clayton, and now deceased 
(sketch elsewhere) ; Jane, who married John Walrath, of Clayton; and 
Olive C, born Xo\ember 3, 1847, and became the wife of Prescott 
Patch, as mentioned above.. She was reared in Depauville. and in 
-'897 purchased a farm near that village, consisting of one hundred and 
thirty-seven acres, which Mr. Patch now superintends, and in addition 
to this he looks after other property, in all two hundred and twenty-five 
acres. 

A great sorrow came to I\[r. Patch in the loss of his estimable 
v.ife by death. May 18, 190-I. Airs. Patch was a member of the Eastern 
Star, I'Vee and Accepted Alasons, was treasurer four years and was 
serving in tliat ca])acity at tl^e time of her death. She was also a mem- 
ber of the Grange. She attended and supported the Baptist church, 
of wliich her parents were members. 

GEORGE \\'. BENT, deceased, for many years successfully en- 
gaged in extensive agricultural pursuits, was born near Gunns Corners, 
Jefferson county. New York, September 7, 1849, ^""J died August 13, 
1895. His parents were George W. and Sally (Wadleigh) Bent. 

George W. Bent (father) was born in 1819. He was reared on 
a farm, and thins became thoroughly familiar with the details of farm- 
ing, which occupation he devoted his attention to for over fifty years, 
his operations having been conducted on the farm where his son George 
\\'. was born, in Gunns Corners, and where he resided up to the time of 
his death, in 1891. His wife, Sally (Wadleigh) Bent, who is living at 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 27T 

the present time (1904) in Dcpauville, Xew York, was born in 1822, 
and was the motlier of three chiUh-en, of whom one is Hving — Jane, a 
resident of Brownville, New York. 

George W. Bent was indebted to the common schools in the vicinity 
of his birthplace for a practical education wdiich prepared him for an 
active and useful career. He remained on the home farm, assisting 
with the labors thereof, for a number of years after attaining manhood, 
and subsequently purchased a farm of one hundred and fifty-six acres 
which he cleared off and cultivated, and on which he resided up to the 
time of his demise, which was sincerely mourned by all who were asso- 
ciated with him in either business or social life. He was a member of 
the Baptist church, to the support of which h.e contributed most liberally. 
As a husband he was true and affectionate, as a father kind and con- 
siderate, and as a citizen loyal and public-spirited. 

Mr. Bent was united in marriage to Prudence Putnam, who was 
born in Clayton, New York, and two children were born to them : 
Nellie, who became the wife of Ira Greenwood, and died March 31, 
IQ03, aged twenty years; and Ethel L. Bent. Prudence (Putnam) 
Bent is a descendant of General Israel Putnam, of revolutionary war 
fame. Her great-grandfather, John Putnam, was a native of Ver- 
mont, resided in Clayton, New York, many years, and died in Mexico, 
Oswego county, at the age of eighty years. He had three children — • 
Parley, Polly and Asa. Parley Putnam (grandfather) was born in 
Herkimer county, and in 1818 came as a pioneer to Clayton, where 
he spent the remainder of his life, dying in 1883, aged eighty-four years. 
He married Prudence Allen, of Herkimer county, and their children 
were as follows : Harriet, deceased ; John, deceased ; Amasa S., de- 
ceased; Caroline, deceased; Ann, widow of Reily Pierce; Albert H., 
a resident of Clayton; Alvin, deceased; Sophronia, wife of Sidney 
Sheldon, of Clayton; Alfred, deceased; Alvira, deceased; and Amon T., 
who resides in the town of Clayton, five miles from Depauville. The 
mother of these children died at the extreme old age of ninety years. 

Alvin Putnam, father of Mrs. Bent, was born in Clayton, reared 
there, and educated in the common schools. He followed farming as a 
means of livelihood, and died at the age of twenty-eight years. His 
wife, whose maiden name was Lydia Lingenfelter, was born in Ver- 
mont, daughter of Conrad Lingenfelter. who was also born in Vermont, 
the third child of John and Elida (Winnie) Lingenfelter, who are 
mentioned fullv m the sketch of William H. Lingenfelter, to be found 



278 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

elsewhere in tliis work. Elizabeth (Podgett) Winnie, mother of Elida 
(Winnie) Lingenfelter, reared a family of children, as follows: Nelson, 
Charles. John, Myron, Elida, Everett, who married Alden Osburn; 
Elizabeth who became the wife of Myron Daniels. 

Two children were born to Alvin and Lydia (Lingenfelter) Put- 
nam, namely: Prudence, widow of George W. Bent; and Cora, who 
became the wife of George Hosmer, of Brownville, New York. After 
the death of ]\Ir. Putnam she became the wife of Hiram Harter, and 
four children were born to them, three of whom are living : Anna, 
wife of Truman Daniels, of Brownville : James, who resides near Mrs. 
George W. Bent; and Elizabeth. Airs. Harter now resides at Crane's 
Corners. The Putnam family were among the early settlers of this 
section of the state, coming to French Creek, now Clayton, finding their 
way by marked trees, and settling near the present home of Amos 
Putnam. 

JOHN F. EMOND, an enterprising business man of Le Ray, 
New York, and prominent in the public affairs of Jefferson county, 
having for many years served as supervisor of the town of Le Ray, 
is a native of Sanford's Corners, born December 25, 1850, son of John 
B. and Marietta (Meeker) Emond. 

Air. Emond is of French extraction. His paternal grandfather, 
Joseph Emond, born in 1785, served under Napoleon Bonaparte for 
the long period of seven years, his service extending into the Peninsular 
campaign of 181 3, an incident, of which was the battle of Vittoria, in 
which Emond bore a soldierly part. After his discharge from the army 
he was given charge of a large tract of government land, and of its lay- 
ing out and dividing. In 1825 he came to the United States and located 
in Le Ray, New York, taking up a tract of land of fifty acres in what 
was then a wilderness, where he made a productive farm and comfort- 
able home. He died at the age of fifty-eight years. 

John B. Emond, son of Joseph Emond, was born in France in 1820, 
and was eight years old when his parents came to America. He became 
a most successful farmer, and acquired a fine tract of three hundred 
acres. He died at the age of seventy-nine years. His wife was Mar- 
ietta Meeker, who was born near Pamelia, one of the four children of 
Barney Meeker, the others being Ross B., Emma and Lydia. Her 
father was a successful lumberman, and a man of broad information. 
John H. Emond and his \\ife were members of the Church of the 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 279 

Disciples. The wife died at the age of forty-seven years, after having 
borne to her husljand three children, of whom two are living — John F., 
to be further referred to hereinafter, and Louis N., who resides near 
Sanford's Corners, on one of the best farms in the neighborhood. 

John F. Emond, eldest child of John B. and Marietta (Meeker) 
Emond, was educated in the common schools. He cultivated a portion 
of the home farm until 1874, when he bought one hundred and sixty 
acres of it, and he has since added to his holdings by the acquisition of 
two other farms, one of seventy-seven acres and the other of thirty- 
eight acres, which are devoted to general farming. For twenty years 
past Mr. Emond has given his attention to buying and pressing hay, 
and his operations have grown to large proportions. He owns and 
operates five powerful presses, and his business covers a wide range 
of territory. He has purchased as much as 9,000 tons of hay, and has 
shipped 900 carloads in a single season. He enjoys a wide acquaint- 
ance throughout the state, and is a valued and influential member of 
the Patrons of Husbandry. In politics he is a Democrat, has rendered 
to his party much service, and has been a member of its county conven- 
tions every year beginning in 1897. For six years he has been super- 
visor of Le Ray township, and he has discharged his duties of the posi- 
tion with signal ability and scrupulous fidelity to the trusts committed 
to him. 

]\Ir. Emond w«s married in 1872 to Miss Matilda Spohn, born in 
Herkimer county, daughter of David Spohn, a farmer of Jefferson 
county, now retired at the ripe old age of eighty-six years. Mr. Spohn 
was the father of a number of children, of whom four are living- 
Mrs. M. H. Holbrook, of St. Lawrence county; Mary J., who is the 
wife of Milo Cottrell, of Le Ray, New York; Reuben A., who resides 
upon a farm in the same neighborhood; and Matilda, who is the wife 
of Mr. Emond. Mr. and Mrs. Emond are the parents of one child, 
Mary Belle, an accomplished young lady w'hose personal graces and 
womanly accomplishments are a bright adornment to the family home, 
which is widely known for its beautiful adornments and its cheery 
hospitality. 

NATHANIEL SYKES PETERSON. In the ranks of the vet- 
eran railroad officials of Jefferson county Nathaniel S. Peterson stood 
second to none. He belonged to a family which during the last sixty- 
five vears has furnished to the county some of its most useful and 



280 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

worthy citizens. His grandparents were Paul and ]\Iary Peterson, 
natives of Holland, who settled in Canada. A\here they died. They 
were farmers at what is now called Peterson's Ferry. 

Christopher Peterson, son of Paul and Mary Peterson, was born 
June 6, 1794. in Canada, where he passed his early life as a farmer. 
In 1839 he came to the town of Watertown, where he purchased a farm, 
and spent the remainder of his years. Although a successful farmer, 
he also engaged in mechanical pursuits, in which he greatly excelled. 
He married Sarah, who was born December 2, 1810. in Sackets Harbor, 
daughter of Ezekiel and Helen (Staples) Wilson. The latter was a 
daughter of George Staples, who was born and educated in New Eng- 
land and during the Revolutionary war served in the continental army. 
Through him his descendants are entitled to membership in the Sons 
and Daughters of the American Revolution. Mr. and Mrs. Peterson 
had a family of ten children : Charles Wesley, Edward Wilson, Aaron, 
William. Harriette, who married Orville D. Merwin and is still living 
in Chittenango. New York ; Squire, who was born in Watertown and 
died in California: Emma, died in infancy; Nathaniel S., mentioned 
at length hereinafter: Erwin, and Frank. The death of Mr. Peterson, 
the father of the family, occurred July 18, 1885, when he had reached 
the age of ninety-one. He was a man who united to great bodily vigor, 
soundness of judgment and integrity of character. His estimable wife 
survived to the unusual age of ninety years, passing away December 11, 
1898. Mr. Peterson ser\ed in the British army, in the war of 1812, 
being then eighteen years old. 

Nathaniel S. Peterson, son of Christopher and Sarah (Wilson) 
Peterson, was born February 20, 1846, in Watertown, where he received 
his education in the public schools. Until reaching the age of twenty- 
five he assisted his father in the labors of the farm and then abandoned 
agricultural pursuits in order to enter the railroad service. For the 
last thirty-one years he was continuously in the employ of the Rome, 
\\'atertown & Ogdensburg Railroad, as fireman and engineer, and could 
point ti) an irreproachable record. He was ime of. the most faithful 
and trusted engineers on the road and continued in active service until 
his death, March ig, 1904. He never used tobacco or alcoholic stimu- 
lants. He was a member of Social Lodge No. 713, of the Masonic 
Order, at Kendall. New York: of \\'atertown City Lodge. No. 291, 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows ; and of the Ancient Order of United 
WVirkmen and Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. 




z/h^oOc/t^ ^t . (~ ■ 



/Co'C^yi^^^yT^ 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 281 

Mr. Peterson married January 2, 1873, Sarah Jane Goundrill, and 
they are the parents of two children : Frederick C. Peterson, a physi- 
cian of Watertown, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work; 
and Frances Marion, who was born August 14, 1879, and received her 
primary education in the public schools of Watertown, afterward attend- 
ing the high school, from which she graduated with high honors in 1897. 
She is now taking a general course at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, 
New York, in the class of 1904. Miss Peterson is a member of the 
Daughters of the American Revolution. 

Mrs. Peterson is a daughter of Philip Goundrill, who was born in 
1822 in Hull, England, where he received his education. In 1836 he 
came to the United States and settled in Watertown. His business 
was that of a dealer in high-grade horses and in all his transactions he 
was very successful. He married Ann Fagan, who was born March 
10, 1820, in Inniskillen, Ireland, her mother being of English birth. 
Mr. and Mrs. Goundrill were the parents of the following children : 
Sarah Jane, who was born March 14, 1850, in Watertown, and became 
the wife of Nathaniel S. Peterson as mentioned above; Mary E., who was 
born September 16. 1851, married, October 15, 1895, John C. Delahant; 
Charles O., who died February 14, 1893; Jessie Goundrill. who was born 
February 28, 1858, and is now living in Watertown; Richard J., who 
was born May 10, i860, and diefl August 14, 1882. The death of Mr. 
Goundrill took place March 19. 1889, and his wife expired January 18, 
1897. Both received from their friends and neighbors the sincere 
respect and true regard which was due to their worthy characters and 
useful lives. 

FREDERICK C. PETERSON, M. D.. whose recent settlement in 
Watertown was hailed as a valuable acquisition to the ranks of the medi- 
cal profession of Jefferson county, is a son of Nathaniel S. Peterson, a 
well-known railroad official, a sketch of whom appears above. 

Frederick C. Peterson, son of Nathaniel S. and Sarah Jane 
(Goundrill) Peterson, was born November 19, 1873, in Jefferson county, 
and received his early education in the city schools of Watertown, gradu- 
ating from the high school in 1892, and the same year entered St. John's 
Military Academy at Manlius, New York. He remained at this institu- 
tion until the following year, when he began the study of medicine in 
the University of Buffalo, from which he received in the autumn of 
1896 the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Afterward he took special 
courses in the New York Lying-in Hospital, followed by one year in 



282 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Europe. During- this time he pursued his studies in the university hos- 
pitals of London, Paris, BerHn and Vienna. On his return to this country 
he served for some tune as house surgeon in the Fitch Hospital of Buf- 
falo, New York, and in 1898 came to Watertown, where he began the 
practice of general medicine in August, being later joined by Dr. A. J. 
Dick. At this time he held the position of attending physician at the 
City Hospital,'and also at the Jefferson County Almshouse. After being 
for some time associated with Dr. Dick, he began to practice alone, and 
met with gratifying success. In 1898-99 and 1900 he was surgeon of 
Company C, National Guard, State of New York. 

In September, 1902. he again went abroad to pursue his studies in 
the colleges of Berlin, Vienna, Paris and London. While in Vienna he 
engaged in study with such specialists' as Professor Hinchman in 
pathology. Professor Shauta in gynecology, and Professor Eisselsberg in 
surgery, at the same time taking special courses in all branches of the 
study of diseases of women, and surgery, and a course under Professor 
Lorenz. He also studied under Professor Winckle, of Munich, and 
Professor Kocher, of the University of Berne. In Paris he was with 
Professor Pozzi, the great French gynecologist, and in London he had 
the honor of being appointed clinical assistant for three months in the 
Soho Hospital for Women. He was made a fellow in the English Gyne- 
cological Society, which is open only to specialists in this line, and of 
which there arc only about fifteen members now residing in the United 
States, and these are, with the exception of Dr. Peterson, professors in 
universities. In addition to this very thorough preparation for his life 
work. Dr. Peterson purchased all the latest instruments which are of 
value in tiiis branch of medicine and surgery. In September, 1903, he 
returned to the city of his youth and opened an ot¥ice in the Smith 
Building, making a specialty of diseases of women, and abdominal 
surgery. 

He is a member of the Jefferson County Medical Society, the New 
York State iledical Association, and the American Medicah Association. 
Dr. Peterion is a member of Corona Lodge, Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows ; of Crotona Lodge, Knights of Pythias ; the Dramatic Order of 
Knights of Khorassan ; the Union Club : the Lincoln League ; a charter 
member and director of the Watertown Coaching Club, and a member of 
Crescent Yacht Club. His summer home is at Prospect Park, St. Law- 
rence river. 

Dr. Peterson married, December 31, 1900, Sarah ^I., who was born 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 283 

May 7, 1875, only child of Gilbert and Myra (Adams) Bradford of 
Watertown (see Bradford). 

MASON MARTIN SWAN. Among the members of the Jeflfer- 
son county bar who, by reason of learning, forensic ability and force of 
character, have earned for themselves honorable places in the ranks of 
their profession. Mason Martin Swan is conspicuous. He is a repre- 
sentative of an ancient family, tracing his descent from the sturdy, in- 
vincible type which planted the New England colonies. 

John Swan, founder of the American branch of the family, born 
in 1627 at Cambridge, Massachusetts, was the father of ten children, 
one of whom was Gershom Swan, born in 1654. His son Timothy, a 
joiner, was born in 1685 and lived at Medford, Massachusetts. He was 
the father of four children, one of whom was Samuel, born at Med- 
ford, Massachusetts, in 1716. His son Daniel was born in 1752, at 
Medford, Massachusetts, by occupation was a tanner, and was the father 
of Joseph, who was born in the same town December 9, 1779. Joseph, 
who became a tanner and saddler, migrated to Cheshire, Berkshire 
county, Massachusetts, while a young man, and there married Mary 
Barker, who was born November 6, 1786. Of this marriage was bom 
Dewey Swan, August 2, 1805, at Cheshire. April 22, 1827, Dewey 
Swan married Polly Rounds, whose father, Jabez Rounds, had migrated 
from Rhode Island and cleared off a large farm upon the mountain, four 
miles west of the village of Cheshire. This farm is located upon the 
next to the highest peak of the Berkshire range of mountains, and has 
now for many years laeen one of New England's abandoned farms, and 
is locally known as Rounds' Mountain. Polly Rounds was born there 
in 1804, and died at Belleville, New York, in 1879. 

Immediately after their marriage, Dewey Swan and his wife emi- 
grated to the town of Ellisburgh, Jefferson county, where he took up 
a large tract of land. Here he spent the remainder of his life as a 
farmer, taking a prominent part in local affairs, holding some town 
offices. His political preferences were those of the Democratic party 
until the founding of the Republican party in 1854, to which he was 
ever afterward loyal. 

Mr. and Mrs. Swan were the parents of seven children, two of 
whom were Martin D., who is mentioned hereafter; and Daniel M., tire 
youngest, bom in 1843. He proved to be the scholar of the family, 
graduating in Union Academy, at Belleville, New York, in 1863. The 



284 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

next year, on account of his proticiency, he was achnitted to the sopho- 
more class of Union College, completed the four j-ears' course in three 
years, and graduated as valedictorian of his class. Thereafter he studied 
law, was admitted to the bar, and practiced very successfully at Leaven- 
worth, Kansas. Later he became interested in a large ranch in Texas. 
In 1869 he married Lemira Ford. They had three children : Charles 
M., Mary, and Daniel M., Jr. Dewey Swan died at Orwell, New York, 
at the ripe age of eighty-five years. His wife was seventy-five at the 
time of her death, and both were highly honored by all who knew them 
for their good and useful lives. They were lifelong and honored mem- 
bers of the Baptist church at Belleville. 

Cordelia Swan, one of the daughters of Dewey and Polly Swan, 
was born August 4, 1S30. married Frederick Williams, of Belleville, 
March 9, 1853. 

Martin Dewey Swan, the son of Dewey and Polly (Rounds) Swan, 
was born May 2, 1838, in Ellisburg, and was educated at Union Acad- 
emy at Belleville. In August, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company 
E. Tenth New York Heavy Artillery, and served until the close of the 
war. In 1864 he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant and 
transferred to Company I in the same regiment. He participated in 
the battles of Cold Harbor and Petersburg, and was with Sheridan in 
the Shenandoah Valley. On his return from the war he came to Ellis- 
burgh and bought a farm of 150 acres, lying north of Belleville. Here 
he has since resided, and become a prosperous farmer. He has for many 
years been a wholesale dealer in seed peas and beans. 

December 20, 1866, he married Frances L., daughter of Alvah and 
Louisa (Packer) Bull. The former, a native of Danby, Vermont, came 
to Ellisburgh earl}' in life and settled and cleared up a large tract of land 
near Rural Hill, in Ellisburgh. He became a prominent farmer and 
dairyman, and maintained one of the finest country homes in the county, 
which is now the property of his son, George E. Bull. Mr. Bull was 
prominent in town affairs, being at one time superv^isor of the town. 
He and his wife were the parents of six children, five of whom are 
living: James, who resides near Minneapolis, Minnesota; Marietta J., 
married James F. Converse: she died in Woodville, leaving two children, 
Frank A., married and now lives in Buffalo, and Marietta Ma}-, married 
and lives in Carthage, New York; Eunice, who is mnv the widow of 
William Mather, who was an extensive land owner and seed dealer in 
the town of Henderson; George E.. who has always li\-ed upon the 



GEXEALOGICAL AXD FAMILY HISTORY. 287 

homestead at Rural Hill; Frances L., mentioned above; Henry C, who 
lives at Cokato, Minnesota, and who is a prominent banker of that state, 
having organized a number of banks, and who' is now the president of 
six of these banks. Alvah Bull, the father, died at the age of seventy- 
seven, and his wife at the age of eighty-one. 

As a citizen, Martin D. Swan is very active. He is one of the 
directors of the Adams National Bank, and has manifested in a practical 
manner his great interest in the cause of education by serving for more 
than thirty years as one of the trustees of Union Academy. He is also 
an active and prominent member of the Belleville Baptist church and 
Union Grange. Mr. and Mrs. Swan are the parents of two children : 
Marietta Belle, the elder, was born December 12, 1867. She studied 
vocal music for some years in Syracuse and New York, and later was 
teacher of vocal music in a leading institution in North Carolina. De- 
cember 27, 1900, she married Hon. Henry Frank Brown, of that state. 
Mr. Brown has held many legislative offices in his native state. 

Mason Martin Swan, son of Martin D. and Frances L. (Bull) 
Swan, born April 20, 1873, in Ellisburgh. received his primary educa- 
tion in the Mathers Mills district school, and afterward attended Union 
Academy at Belleville, from which he graduated in 1892. During his 
junior and senior years in that institution he was president of his class, 
which up to that time was the largest graduated from that venerable insti- 
tution. He then entered Brown University, and in 1896 graduated 
therefrom with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy. While in college 
he was prominent in athletics and in the musical organizations, being 
ifirst cornetist in the College Symphony Orchestra and conductor of the 
College Military Band. He began the study of law in the office of Sena- 
tor Elon R. Brown, and later entered the senior class at the Albany Law 
School, from which he graduated in 1899. In the fall of that year he 
opened an office in the city of Watertown, New York, for the practice 
of law. In April, 1903, he formed a partnership with Brayton A. Field, 
under the firm name of Field & Swan. 

Mason M. Swan is a member of Watertown Lodge No. 49, Free 
and Accepted Masons ; Watertown Chapter No. 59, Royal Arch Masons ; 
Watertown Commandery No. 11, Knights Templar; Corona Lodge No. 
706, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; Crescent Yacht Club; Sons of 
Veterans ; Modern Woodmen of America, and the Grange. For two 
years he has been president of the Lincoln League, the permanent Repub- 
lican club of Jefferson county, which has a membership of about four- 



288 GENEALOGICAL AXD FAMILY HISTORY. 

teen hundred, and which is the largest permanent RepubHcan club in 
the state. For three years he has been president of the Alumni Associa- 
tion of Union Academy at Belleville. 

Mr. Swan married, August 27, 1903, Carol Margaret, only daugh- 
ter of Henry J. and Martha (Salisbury) Brimmer of Watertown, New 
York. 

WILLIAM FITZGERALD. Among the leading business men 
of Clayton who by thrift and industry have earned for themselves a 
place, may be mentioned William Fitzgerald, of the firm of Maher & 
Fitzgerald, dealers in grain, feed, flour, lime, cement, coal, hay, etc. He 
was born in Ireland on May 23, 1848. 

James Fitzgerald, father of William Fitzgerald, was a farmer 
in Ireland, where he lived when his son was born. It was near the 
middle of the last century that he brought his family to America and 
settled in Vermont, near Montpelier. He was employed on the railroad 
until 1850, when he moved to Clayton, New York, and engaged in farm- 
ing. He died at Clayton at the age of thirty-four. His wife was 
Mary, daughter of Michael Mellon, an Irish farmer, who came to Clay- 
ton with his family, and died there at the age of seventy-five. James 
and Mary (Mellon) Fitzgerald were the parents of four children, namely : 
William, whose name appears at the head of this article; Michael, a 
farmer: Margaret, who is the wife of James Casselman, a farmer of 
Clayton ; Catherine, deceased. The mother of these shildren is living at 
the present time (1904), aged seventy-six years. 

William Fitzgerald was but a child when his parents came to 
America, and he was educated in the public schools here, and grew up 
to the traditions of the country. He worked as a farm laborer for 
some years, and later bought a dairy farm of four hundred acres — 
the largest in the town — about two miles from Clayton. He managed 
this farm successfully until 1890, when occurred the death of a younger 
brother, who in company with M. C. Maher had some years before estab- 
lished this business in Clayton, which has >grown to such large propor- 
tions. William took his interest in the firm, to which he has since given 
his attention with very gratifying results, the business to-day being 
one of the most prosperous in the town. 

Mr. Fitzgerald married, in 1866. Louise Vignero, born in Otsego 
countv, New York, daughter of Nicholas Vignero, and one of five 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 289 

children, of whom all the others found homes in the west. The mother 
died in Oswego county. 

As a Democrat. Mr. Fitzgerald takes a lively interest in politics, 
both local and national. For three years he was excise commissioner 
of the township of Clayton. He is a member of the Knights of Colum- 
bus, and has been an officer of the society. He is a trustee and earnest 
worker in St. Mary's Catholic church, and he was a member of the 
building committee that supervised its construction. It is one of the 
f nest churches to be found in any town of its size in the state. 

ALBERT THOMPSON. Energy, perseverance and industry were 
the chief characteristics in the successful career of Albert Thompson, a 
farmer in the town of Lorraine, Jefferson county, New York, where his 
birth occurred July 14, 1856. His parents were Duane and Elizabeth 
(Tillison) Thompson, residents of Lorraine, where they followed the 
quiet but useful calhng of agriculture. 

The early years of the life of Albert Thompson were spent in the 
same manner as the majority of other boys reared in the country — assist- 
ing with the manifold and arduous tasks around the house and farm, 
and attending the district school during the winter months. Upon at- 
taining mature years he purchased the farm of over one hundred acres 
located southwest of the village of Lorraine, formerly the property of old 
Deacon Lyman, whereon he has since conducted farming and dairying, 
conducting his operations on an extensive scale. He is a practical man of 
business, honorable in his methods, and is highly esteemed and respected 
in the community. He is firm in his advocacy of Republican principles, 
and takes an active interest in the affairs of his party, but has never 
sought or held public office, preferring to devote his time and attention 
exclusively to the cultivation of his farm, which is one of the most 
productive in that section of the county. 

On August I, 1875, Mr. Thompson was married to Delia Wheeler, 
who was born in Adams, New York, September 13, 1857, ^ daughter 
of Edward and Miranda (Farr) Wheeler, the former named being 
a farmer by occupation, and a Republican in politics. Three children 
were the issue of this marriage: Lillie, born July 28, 1876; Eddie, 
born March 10, 1880; and Daniel, born May 26, 1889. These children 
all reside at home, and the boys expect eventually to become farmers 
and to be able to grive their father material assistance in his labors. 



i;90 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

AMASA M. FLANSBURGH. No better representative of the 
farmers of Jefferson county could be found than Amasa M. Flansburgh, 
of Adams. The family of the Flansburgh was founded in this country 
by one Flansburgh, who emigrated from Holland, .\nthony Flans- 
burgh, the son of this pioneer ancestor, maiiifested his devotion to his 
adopted country by enlisting at the early age of sixteen in the Revolu- 
tionary army, and was present at an event the news of which was received 
with unspeakable joy by the friends of freedom on both sides of the 
sea — the surrender of General Burgoyne. His wife was a Van Allen. 

Peter Flansburgh, son of Anthony Flansburgh, was born in Albany 
county. New York, and followed the trade of a carpenter. In early 
life he came to Jefferson county, where he lived a number of years, and 
then went to Kenosha, Wisconsin, in which place he i>assed the remainder 
of his life. He married Catherine Tubois, and they were the parents 
of the following children: Mary, Nancy, Samantha, Amanda, Wesley 
and Alonzo. After the death of his wife Mr. Flansliurgh married 
Cynthia Hayes, and three children were born to them : Seth Orville, 
mentiored at length hereinafter ; Caroline, and Timothy. 

Seth Orville Flansburgh, son of Peter and Cynthia (Hayes) Flans- 
burgh, was l)orn June 28, 1835, in Clayton. He learned the trade of 
miller at Depauville and worked there and at Redwood for a number 
of years, at the former place being part owner of the business. He 
afterward went to Michigan, wdiere he became a farmer, and now lives 
at Grand Ledge, in that state. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity 
and the Order of the Eastern .Star, and is a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church. Mr. Flansburgh married Lucy McCombs, who was 
born in Brownville, August 30, 1837, a daughter of Andrew and Emily 
(Dickey) McCombs, and granddaughter of John and ^lagdalena (Frank) 
McCombs. John McCombs (grandfather) was born in the state of 
New York, 1774. married in 1800, Magdalena Frank, daughter of Judge 
Frank, of Herkimer county. New York, and to them were born Andrew 
AlcCombs (father), whose birth occurrred January 31, 1802, in Litch- 
field, Herkimer county. New York, married in 1836, in Clayton, New- 
York, Emily Dickey, who bore him two children, Lucy and Amelia. 
John McCombs died at the residence of his son Andrew in Lyme, New 
York, 1847, and his wife also died there, 1865. Andrew McCombs 
died at the old homestead, 1887, and his wife passed away in the year 
1899. Three children — a son and two daughters — were the issue of the 
marriage of Mr. and ]\Irs. Flansburgh: Amasa ]\I., Iiorn Tanuarv 12, 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 291 

1858, mentioned at length hereinafter; Addie, born April 9, i860, wife 
of Herbert Lord, of Grand Ledge, Michigan; and Carrie A., born May 
24, 1866, wife of Ehner Edwards, of Grand Ledge, Michigan. In 
August, 1898, the family was afflicted by by the death of Mrs. Flans- 
burgh, the mother of these children. She was a most estimable woman, 
and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

Amasa M. Flansburgh, son of Seth Orville and Lucy (McCombs) 
Flansburgh, was born January 12, 1858, in the town of Lyme. He 
learned the milling business under the direction of his father, and after 
engaging in it for some fifteen years turned his attention to agriculture, 
and in 1900 purchased the old "Orrin Ripley farm," near the village of 
Adams. This estate, which consists of one hundred and twenty-two 
acres, is maintained and conducted as a flourishing dairy farm. Mr. 
Flansburgh is a member of the Grange. In politics he is a Republican, 
following in this respect the traditions of his family, wlio are all adher- 
ents of that party. 

Mr. Flansburgh married, February 26, 1880, Inez Rogers, and they 
have one son, Mark T., who was born June 18, 1881, and is now a resi- 
dent of Cleveland, Ohio, where he is employed as a bookkeeper by the 
Dental Manufacturing Company of that city. 

Mrs. Flansburgh is descended from Gideon Rogers, who was born 
in Rhode Island and during the Revolutionary war served in the Conti- 
nental army. He married Lucy Congdon, and their son, Gideon Rogers, 
born in Hancock, Massachusetts, served in the war of 1812. In 1816 
he came to Brownville and in 1819 settled in Claytor. He was first 
employed by General Brown, who was a cousin of Mr. Flansburgh's 
mother, Lucy (McCombs) Flansburgh. Gideon Rogers, Jr., married 
Betsy Ormsby, and they were the parents of a son, Solon Rogers, who 
was born December 5, 1823, in the town of Orleans. He became a 
farmer, is a Republican in politics and a member of the Masonic Order 
and the Grange. He has now retired from active labor and lives at 
Three Mile Bay. Solon Rogers married Sarah Lewis, born February 
22, 1834, daughter of John and Mary (Knox) Lewis, of Orleans. The 
latter was born in 1790, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, daughter of Robert 
Knox, who joined the army of the Revolution at the age of sixteen and 
served seven years, and a niece of General Knox of Revolutionary fame. 
Mr. and Mrs, Rogers were the parents of a daughter, Inez, born April 
10, 1856, in the town of Clayton, who became the wife of Amasa M. 



292 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Flansl)urgh. as mentioned above. She is a member of the Eastern Star 
of Adams, New York. 

WILLIAM R. STRICKLAND. The future of a community is 
largely determined by the character of its early settlers, and the part 
which Jefferson county has played in the history of the state and of the 
nation is due in no small measure to the fact that its pioneers were of 
New England stock, descendants of men who founded a nation in the 
face of difficulties and dangers which would have deterred those of less 
heroic mould. It is from such ancestors that William R. Strickland, a 
thriving farmer and enterprising citizen of Adams, traces his descent. 

Rial Strickland was born November i6, 1785, in Massachusetts, 
received a good education, and was at one time a schoolmaster. About 
18 10 he came to Jefferson county and settled in Rodman, near where 
the village now stands. He had a farm of about one hundred and sixty 
acres, which he devoted mainly to the cultivation of fruit, in which he 
was ^•ery successful. He was a man of influence in the township, and 
held the office of justice of the peace. In politics he adhered to the 
Whig party. He married, January 29, 1809, Lorinda Gager, who was 
born February 13, 1787, and they were the parents of eleven children: 
Esther B., Maria, Lorinda, Adeline, Samuel, Orin, Rial, Sally, Betsey, 
Morgan and Dewitt, mentioned at length hereinafter. Mr. Strickland, 
the father of this large family — of whom all but one arrived at maturity 
and resided in this vicinity — died at the advanced age of ninety years, 
justly loved and respected by all who knew him. 

Dewitt Strickland, son of Rial and Lorinda (Gager) Strickland, was 
born in 1830, in Rodman, where he passed his boyhood on the paternal 
farm, and in early manhood engaged in agricultural pursuits. During 
the Ci\-il war he enlisted in Company B, Tenth Regiment New York 
Heavy Artillery, and served ten months, being present nt the siege of 
Petersburg. For injuries sustained during his term of service he received 
a pension. In 1873 he purchased the old J. W. Smith farm, situated in 
.Adams, on the Rodman road, and for the remainder of his life devoted 
himself assiduously to its cultivation. By his skillful management the 
ninety-two acres which composed the estate were rendered extremely 
profitable as a fine dairy farm. Mr. Strickland was a Republican in pol- 
itics, and took an active part in the affairs of the organization, but could 
never be prevailed upon to accept office. He was a member of the Grand 
.■\rmy of the Republic. He and his wife attended the Baptist church. He 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 293 

married Samaria C. Burnham, and three children were torn to them : 
D. Alton, who died at the age of fourteen months ; Nellie, who resides at 
home; and William R., mentioned at length hereinafter. The death of Mr. 
Strickland, which occurred May 19, 1898, was lamented by all who knew 
him, as that of a man admirable in all the relations of life 

William R. Strickland, son of Dewitt and Samaria C. (Burnham) 
Strickland, was born October 29, 1864, in Henderson. He received his 
primary education in the district school, afterward taking a commercial 
course at the Adams Collegiate Institute. When the time came for him 
to choose a life-calling, he decided to follow in the footsteps of his an- 
cestors, and devote himself tO' the cultivation of the acres which would 
m the course of time become his by inheritance. He is now in possession 
of the homestead, the flourishing condition of which bears witness to 
his well-deserved reputation as one of the substantial farmers of the town- 
ship. He is a member of the Lincoln League, Rising Sun Lodge No. 234, 
F. & A. M., of Adams, and of Adams Grange. In the sphere of politics 
he is true to the traditions of his family, and adheres to the Republican 
party. He and his wife attend the Baptist church. 

Mr. Strickland married, January 24, 1894, Pearlie E., daughter 
of Aldro Whitford, of Adams. They have one daughter, Samaria E., 
born June 27, 1900. 

BRAYTON S. CLARK, a worthy farmer and esteemed citizen of 
Pierrepont Manor, traces his descent from New England ancestors, his 
great-grandfather, John Clark, having been a resident of Rhode Island, 
and one of the patriotic soldiers of the Revolution, and lived to be more 
than a hundred years old. He left three sons, John, Jesse and Nathaniel, 
all of whom emigrated from Rhode Island to New York, and were among 
the pioneer settlers of Lorraine township. 

John Clark, mentioned above as one of the three sons of John Clark 
of Revolutionary fame, was born in Rhode Island, and came tO' this 
county in the early part of the last century, finding his way from Rome 
by means of marked trees. He was one of the first settlers of the town 
of Lorraine, where he took up a large tract of land. He and his son 
James took part in the war of 1812. Mr. Clark was a man of influence 
in the township. He married Eliph Caulkins, and they were the parents 
of ten children, all of whom lived and died in this vicinity. Mr. Clark, 
while not equalling his father in longevity, lived to a good old age, dying 
at the advanced aged of eighty-four years. 



294 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Datus E. Clark, son of John and Eliph (Caulkins) Clark, was born 
September i8, 1809, on his father's farm in Lorraine township and was 
all his life engaged in agricultural pursuits. He lived on the homestead 
until 1850, when he moved to the town of Ellisburgh, and became the 
owner of three other farms in that township. He occupied himself chiefly 
in dairying and the raising of stock, in which branches of industry he 
was eminently successful. For his services during the French Creek 
trouble he received a warrant for 160 acres of land. His political affilia- 
tions were with the Democratic party, and he and his wife were members 
of the Methodist Episcopal church. He married Caroline, born Decem- 
ber 22, 1816, daughter of Isaiah and Lucy (Carpenter) Bateman. the 
former a farmer of Sandy Creek. iSIr. and Mrs. Clark had two children : 
Brayton S., mentioned at length hereinafter; and Lucy Ambrosia, who 
died October 28. 1869. at the age of eighteen years. The death of Mr. 
Clark occurred July 22, 1893. He was a man who had been greatly pros- 
pered in worldly matters, but whose best legacy to his descendants was the 
memory of an honorable and useful life. His widow is still living at an 
advanced age. 

Brayton S. Clark, son of Datus E. and Caroline (Bateman) Clark, 
was born December 29, 1845, on the old homestead in Lorraine township, 
and was educated in the common schools. On reaching manhood he 
decided to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors and become a farmer 
for life. His subsequent career has abundantly proved that his abili- 
ties as an agriculturist are in no wise inferior to those of his fore- 
fathers. He now owns the old home farm of two hundred and fifty- 
seven acres, situated just east of the village of Pierrepont Manor, 
which he continues to devote, as his father did, to dairying and stock 
raising, making a specialty of the Durham breed. He is a member 
of the Grange. In politics he is a Republican, and takes an active part 
in the affairs of the organization. He and his wife are members of 
the Baptist church of Mannsville. 

Mr. Clark married September 12, 1869, Celestine Jennings. They 
have no children. ]Mrs. Clark is a daughter of Elias Jennings, a na- 
tive of Massachusetts, who came in early life to New York state and 
settled in Jefferson county, making his home in Lorr'iine. He mar- 
ried Betsy A., daughter of Jesse and Vertue (Perkins) Clark. The 
former is mentioned above as one of the three sons of JoItu Clark, 
Sr. .Mr. and Mrs. Jennings were the parents of two .sons and three 
daughters. Celestine, who was the youngest, was born October 25. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 295 

1845, in Lorraine, and Ijecame the wife of Brayton S. Clark, as men- 
tioned above, ^h: Jennings died May 3, 1863, at the age of fifty- 
six, and his wife passed away December 29, 1885, being then se^-enty- 
six years old. Both Mr. and Mrs. Jennings are remembered by their 
friends and neighbors with the respect and afifectiGn inspired by their 
many estimable traits of character. They were members of the Bap- 
tist church, of Mannsville. 

GENERx\L BRADLEY WINSLOW, a leading attorney of 
Watertown, New York, who has a distinguished record as a soldier of 
the Civil war, is a representative of one of the oldest families in America. 
He is seventh in the direct line of descent from Kenelm Winslow, a 
brother of Edward Winslow, who was one of the passengers on the 
Mayflower. His ancestors have been prominent in the history of New 
England, in civil and in military life, and the family was among the 
first to push across the frontier into New York state. 

Bradley Winslow was born August i, 1834, on a farm in the town 
of Watertown. He attended the district schools as a boy, and when 
he was sixteen entered Cazenovia Seminary. He was a bright and 
ambitious student, and continued his studies in 1850 and 1851 at Falley 
Seminary, Fulton, New York. Still later he attended the Kingston 
Seminary at Kingston, Pennsylvania. He began to read law in the 
office of Honorable James F. Starbuck of Watertown, and in 1854 he 
entered the Poughkeepsie Law School and was admitted to the bar in 
1855. The first year of his active practice was in the office of Mr. Star- 
buck, and then he opened an office in Watertown with Mr. J. L. Bigelow 
as partner. It was characteristic of Mr. Winslow to throw himself ener- 
getically and unreservedly into the business in hand and the life about 
him, and it was not long before he had gained reputation in his pro- 
fession and prominence in politics. In 1859 he was nominated for dis- 
trict attorney and elected after an exciting campaign. The outbreak 
of the Civil war interrupted the career begun with such show of prom- 
ise, for the young lawyer was among the first to offer himself as a 
volunteer. He was first lieutenant of the Black River Corps, one of 
the earliest of the local military organizations to tender their services 
to the governor of the state. The company was sent to Elmira under 
command of Captain Potter, and in the rearrangements of the regi- 
mental organization Lieutenant Winslow was made captain, with W. C. 
Brown colonel. In July the regiment was sent to the defenses at 



296 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Washington, and so favorable was the impression which Captain Wins- 
low made upon those in authority that in August he was made lieu- 
tenant-colonel of his regiment. His command was present at the battle 
of Cedar Mountain and took an important part at the second battle of 
Bull Run, where Colonel Winslow was conspicuous for bravery and 
readiness in the field. He was obliged, however, to resign his com- 
mission on account of broken health, and it was not until the closing 
years of the war that he was able again to enter military service. He 
then raised and organized the One Hundred and Eighty-sixth Volunteer 
Infantry, of which he was at once commissioned colonel. The regi- 
ment was immediately detailed to General Meade's command, where it 
was assigned to the second division, ninth army corps, stationed in 
front of Petersburg. This regiment took an important part in the 
capture of the Weldon Railroad, October 31, 1864, and led the attack 
that captured Fort Malone, one of the outposts of Petersburg, April 2, 
1865. In an attack on another fortification. Colonel Winslow was seri- 
ously wounded, a minie ball having passed entirely through his body. 
For his gallantry and the able management of his regiment, he received 
a highly commendatory and eulogistic letter from the general in com- 
mand. General S. G. Griffin. He was afterward complimented by an 
unsolicited appointment from the president as lieutenant in the Twenty- 
second United States Infantry, but he declined the honor. In 1868, 
however, he was appointed by Governor Fenton brigadier-general of the 
New York National Guard, and put in command of the Sixteenth 
Brigade, where he served for three years. He showed the same capacity 
for leadership that had distinguished him in active military service, and 
the same hold on the affection and respect of his men. These qualities 
brought him into civil service, and he was elected mayor of Watertown 
in 1875. In 1879 he was elected to the state senate from his district, 
and served two years. He is an enthusiastic member of the Grand 
Army of the Republic, and was elected junior vice-commander of the 
state of New York on the first organization of the order. 

He married. Xoveml>er 15, 1855, Geraldine M. Cooper, daughter 
of John C. and .\lvira (Fox) Cooper, Jefferson county pioneers. Three 
children were born of this marriage, namely: John C, born in 1856, 
who was graduated from Dartmouth College, studied law with his 
father and practiced with the firm until he received an appointment in 
the office of the attorney general of the state, and died in California of 
pulmonary trouble in 1890; Charlotte, born in 1859. who is the widow 




JOHN C. WINSLOW 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 297 

of William G. Jolinston of Watertown; Florence W., born in 1866, 
who married Samuel A. Upham, a prominent manufacturer of Water- 
town. On January 22, 1901, General Winslow married Miss Poppie 
Holmes Burdick, a native of x\lexandria, daughter of a prominent 
citizen of that town. 

General Winslow is still actively engaged in the pursuit of his 
profession, and takes high rank among the attorneys of the state. 

iOHN COOPER WINSLOW. whose portrait accompanies this 
sketch, was born October 22, 1856, in the city of Watertown. His 
parents were General Bradley Winslow and Geraldine M. Cooper Wins- 
low (q. v.). His mother taught him the first rudiments of the fine 
education he afterwards acquired: he commenced to attend the public 
schools of the city in his eighth year, and continued to have, without 
any break, the benefits of our public school system until he graduated 
from the Watertown high school in June, 1873. During the most, if 
not all. of his four years at the high school, the late Hannibal Smith 
was principal. Ambitious for a collegiate education, he entered Dart- 
mouth College in the fall of 1873: from this institution he graduated 
in the spring of 1877; he entered his father's office as a law student, 
where he continued until January i. 1880, in the meantime having been 
admitted to the bar and for a few months practicing law with his father 
under the firm name of B. & J. C. Winslow. In January, 1880. he was 
given an important appointment in the office of Attorney General Ham- 
ilton Ward at Albany, New York; in December, 1881, his health showed 
marked symptoms of failing, and on the recommendation of his physi- 
sian, in January succeeding, he went to Florida, where he remained 
until in May following, when he returned to his duties in the attorney 
general's office, apparently his health much improved; but in July fol- 
lowing symptoms of disease again became so prominent that he, upon 
the advice of a New York specialist in pulmonary diseases, gave up his 
position in the attorney general's office and took up his residence in the 
Adirondacks. where he remained during the balance of the summer and 
through the fall and winter of 1883-84. Again consulting his physician, 
he decided to go to New Mexico, stopping at Santa Fe, where he re- 
mained until April, 1885 ; he then traveled in the southwest until July 
4th of that year, when he arrived in California ; he located in Pasadena 
in August, and in November following built a residence there. Feeling 
ambitious to succeed in his profession, he opened a law office in Los 
Angeles, which is near Pasadena, in December, 1885. His abilities in 



298 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

his profession and his genial manners gave him recognition as a young 
lawyer of great promise. In January, i886. he removed his office to 
Pasadena, and in the fall of the same year was made city attorney, and 
formed a partnership with M. C. Hester, Esq., under the firm name of 
Winslow & Hester. This partnership was continued until April 12, 
1888, when Mr. Winslow succumbed to the fatal and insidious disease 
that he had bravely fought against for so many years, and died. His 
remains were buried in Mountain Yiew Cemetery in Pasadena. 

On 'Slay 13, 1880. he was married to Isabel Bates of Syracuse, a 
niece and ward of the late William A. Sweet of that city. His wife 
accompanied him to New Mexico and California, and devoted herself 
with tenderest solicitude and affection to caring for him, until death 
took him away; she has since remained in Pasadena. It seems to all 
those who knew John Cooper Winslow, — and to know him was but to 
love him, — a mystery that one so well equipped to achieve success in 
the battle of life should have met with such an untimely death. He was 
temperate in his habits, and his failing health was in no manner attrib- 
utable to any improper mode of living: he gave every promise that, could 
his life have been prolonged, he would have taken a prominent place 
among the men who have contributed so well to the growth and promi- 
nence of the commonwealth of California. During the brief period 
that he practiced his profession he argued a case for the Agricultural 
Insurance Company, on appeal before the general term, now the appel- 
late division of the supreme court for the fourth department of the state 
of New York, and Judge Hardin, the presiding justice of the court, 
afterward informed the writer of this sketch that John acquitted him- 
self in a most creditable manner: the judgment appealed from by the 
insurance company, and which had been recovered upon a trial before 
Edwin Allen, Esq., as referee, a brother of the late Judge William F. 
Allen, Avas reversed. Not until the mysteries of this life are disclosed 
in the life that we fondly believe exists beyond the portals of the tomb, 
will it be known why the career of John Cooper Winslow should have 
lieen cut off when it gave promise of great usefulness to the community 
in which he had cast his lot. 

ORIN H. LOWREY. Among the farmers and citizens of Jefifer- 
son ci unity none is more highly or more deservedly respected than is 
Orin H. Lowrey, of Lorraine. He comes of New England stock, 
being descended from James Lowrey, who was born in Rhode Island, 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY 



2!)9 



and about 1800 settled in Galway, New York. He was a farmer, and 
married Lucy Harris. They were the parents of seven children, of 
whom Daniel, born in 1788, was one of the pioneers of Jefferson 
county. About 1805 he settled in Lorraine on a tract of wild land 
which he cleared and converted into a farm. He was one of the fore- 
most men in the community. He married Anna Grinnell, and they 
were the parents of nine children, seven of whom reached maturity: 
Eliza; Lorenzo; Daniel Harris, mentioned at length hereinafter; Philo; 
Lozina, who became the wife of John Wells ; Hannah : and Lucy, who 
married William Beebe. 

Daniel Harris Lowrey, son of Daniel and Anna (Grinnell) Low- 
rey, was born August 7, 1819, on the home farm, and all his life fol- 
lowed agricultural pursuits. He married Elsie Wells, who died in 
1848, and in 185 1 he married Phoebe, born in 183 1, in Sandy Creek, 
daughter of Andrew and Sally (Powell) Coulter. By this marriage 
he was the father of two sons: Brayton D., of Belleville, and Orin H., 
mentioned at length hereinafter. The mother of these children died in 
1865, and in 1866 Mr. Lowrey married Betsy E., daughter of George 
T. and Sarah (Beard) Harding, of Sandy Creek. The death of Mr. 
Lowrey occurred in 1892. 

Orin H. Lowrey, son of Daniel Harris and Phcebe (Coulter) 
Lowrey, was born August 19, 1861, on a farm in Lorraine, and has 
all his life followed his ancestral pursuit of farming. He now re- 
sides on and cultivates a farm belonging to the estate of his father- 
in-law. 

Mr. Lowrey married, November 17, 1886, Mary, born March 3, 
1865, on the farm which is now her home, daughter of Aarou B. and 
Caroline R. (Grinnell) Allen. The former was born May 19, 1820, 
on the farm which is now the home of his daughter and son-in-law, 
and died January 7, 1898. His wife, who was born May 4, 1823, died 
in April, 1901. Mr. and Mrs. Lowrey are the parents of two children: 
Charlotte, born July 16, 1887, and Nellie, born January 31, 1890. 

HERBERT JERMAIN HOWLAND. The Howland family, 
worthily represented in the present generation by Herbert J. How- 
land, of Watertown, New York, traces its ancestry to William How- 
land, who was born in Rhode Island, February 8, 1747. In 1769 or 
1770, at Gloucester, Rhode Island, he married Miss Mary Richmond, 
who was born in Gloucester, Rhode Island, or Taunton, Massachu- 



300 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

setts, in 1 75 1, a daughter of Seth and Esther (Walker) Richmond, and 
a descendant of John Richmond, who was born in 1594, and came to 
America from Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire, England, as early as 1637, 
in which year he was one of the original purchasers of Taunton, Massa- 
chusetts. From this John Richmond her lineage was through John, 
Joseph, Joseph, and Seth Richmond. William Howland and his wife 
resided in Gloucester for many years, where they are of record Sep- 
tember 24, 1 79 1, on which date they signed receipt to David Rich- 
mond for her share in the estate of her father, Seth Richmond. Soon 
after this they removed to Ballston, New York, whence they came to 
the town of Rutland, this county, in 1806. They belonged to the 
Society of Friends, and their deaths occurred in the town of Rutland, 
respectively in 1835 and July 3, 1828. Their children, recorded in 
Gloucester, were Richmond, John and Oziel, David and Rufus. 

Richmond Howland, eldest son of William and Mary (Rich- 
mond) Howland, was born January 2, 1772, in Gloucester, Rhode 
Island, and subsequently resided in Providence, Rhode Island, remov- 
ing thence with his parents to Jefferson county. New York, in 1804. 
He cleared a tract of land which he afterward disposed of for one 
hundred dollars. He then took another farm, three miles south of 
Felt's Mills, which he also cleared, and which became his home for 
the remainder of his life. He took an active part in local afifairs and 
was the incumbent of various township offices. He served in the army 
during the war of 1812, and was present at the battle of Sacketts Har- 
bor. Prior to his departure from Providence, Rhode Island, he mar- 
ried Rachel King, who was born January 25, 1769, daughter of James 
and Phebe (Allen) King, and six children were born to- them, all of 
whom are deceased, namely : Oziel, Sarah, Richmond, James, Hiram, 
and William. Mr. Howland, who was in all respects a most estimable 
citizen, died July 5, 1862, aged ninety years. His wife, who was a 
most excellent woman and a member of the Society of Friends, passed 
away December 10, 1855, aged eighty-six years. 

Oziel Howland, eldest son of Richmond and Rachel (King) How- 
land, was born in Rhode Island, July 18, 1799. His parents removed 
to the town of Rutland, Jefferson county. New York, when he was 
a child, and his education was received at the comuT'in schools. He 
resided with his father until he was of age, and then located on a 
farm near the center of the to\\'n of Pamelia, where he followed farm- 
ing until ills death, October 4, 1875. He held the offices of assessor; 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 301 

and road commissioner, and was a Democrat in politics. Through- 
out his entire career he enjoyed the respect of his fellow-townsmen for 
his integrity, honesty and good qualities as a citizen. In 1824 he mar- 
ried Cynthia King, who was born August 15, 1799, daughter of 
Jeptha and Lucretia King. Their children were : Richmond W., born 
July 20, 1825, died 1901, in North Dakota; Eugene B., born Febru- 
ary 6, 1827, mentioned at length hereinafter. Josephine M., born in 
1829, became the wife of John Gailey. Cornelia, born in 1831, re- 
sides with her brother Jerome in Watertown, New York. Jerome, born 
September 13, 1833, was educated at the public schools, succeeded his 
father to the home farm in the town of Pamelia, where he followed 
farming, and in 1898 located in the city of Watertown and retired 
from business. He is a Democrat in politics, a member of Watertown 
Grange, No. 7, and life member of the Jefferson County Agricultural 
Society. Jeptha K., born in 1835, died in Kansas in 1901. Hortensis 
]M., born in 1837. Angeline S., born in 1839, became the wife of the 
late James Smith; she resides in the city of Watertown. Rachel, who 
died in infancy. Mary A., born March 30, 1844, resides with her 
brother in the city of Watertown. 

Eugene B. Howland, second son of Oziel and Cynthia (King) 
Rowland, was born in the town of Rutland, Jefferson county. New 
York, February 6, 1827. When a child his parents removed to the 
town of Pamelia, where he attended the common schools and resided 
until 1850, when he went to California, where he followed mining for 
about six years, and conducted a sheep ranch for a period of four years. 
In i860 he returned to Jefferson county, and four years later pdrchased 
a farm located at East Watertown, in the town of Watertown, where 
he carried on general farming quite extensively until his death. In 
politics he AAas a Democrat, but never sought or held public office. On 
March 7, 1856, shortly after his return from California, he married 
Louisa Tallman, who was b<jrn July 21, 1827, in the town of Schuyler, 
Herkimer county. New York, a daughter of Abram and Phiia (Eddy) 
Tallman, the former named having been a son of William and Rlioda 
(Atkins) Tallman, and the latter a daughter of Welcome and Rhoda 
(Bennett) Eddy. One child was born to Mr. and Mrs. Howland, 
Herbert Jermain. Mr. Howland was a man highly respected by all, 
a good neighbor, and a kind and loving husband and father. He died 
July II, 1894, and his remains were interred at Lafargeville, New 
York. 



302 GEXEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Herbert Jermain Howland, only child of Eugene B. and Louisa 
(Tallman) Howland, was born December i8, 1859, in the town of 
Pamelia, Jefferson county, New York. He was educated at the public 
schools of Pamelia, Orleans and Watertown. He assisted his father 
in the work on the homestead, and upon the death of the latter succeeded 
to the estate at East Watertown, where he has devoted his attention 
exclusively to farming and dairying. In addition to this he is the owner 
of considerable real estate in the city of Watertown. and a portion of 
liis time is .spent in real estate transactions, from which he realizes a 
fair profit. In politics he is a Democrat, but has never aspired to public 
office, preferring to devote his time to business affairs and to looking 
after the comfort and welfare of his mother, with whom he resides at 
the present time (1905) at No. 113 State street, Watertown. He, like 
his father and early ancestors, is a worthy citizen, taking an active 
interest in all measures which tend toward the advancement of society. 

CALEB N. LYMAN, a highly respected and prominent citizen of 
the tow'n of Lorraine, Jefferson county. New York, where he was born, 
March 14, 1835, is a man of keen discrimination, sound judgment and 
excellent common sense, and these characteristics have aided materially 
in the success which has attended his active career. His parents were 
Caleb and Theda (Butler) Lyman. 

Having been reared upon a farm, he naturally chose that occupa- 
tion as best suited for his life work, and after completing a common 
school education turned his attention to that line of industry, which 
he has followed in connection with that of lumbering. In 1862 he 
enlisted in Company B, Tenth Regiment, New York Heavy Artillery, 
and served three years in that terrible struggle, the Civil war. and is 
now a pensioner of the United States government for disabilities inci- 
dent tliereto. He participated in the battle of Petersburg and the battle 
of Cedar Creek, and throughout his term of service displayed both 
courage and heroism. Since attaining his majority he has cast his 
vote with the Republican party, whose interests he has served faithfully 
and well. He is a member of the Protestant Methodist church, a mem- 
Iier of the Inde])endent Order of Odd Fellows, and of the Grand Army 
of the Republic. 

On July 29, 1861, Mr. Lyman married Amelia Walker, who was 
born May 3, 1844, a daughter of Abram and Lucinda (Weaver) Walker, 
residents of Worth township. Their children are as follows : Heniy 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 303 

C, born February lo, 1868, resides on tlie homestead farm; he married 
Belle Ripley. Theada A., born April 9, 1870, wife of Franklin Wilcox, 
of Allendale, a blacksmith by trade. Clinton A., born February 12, 
1872, who was shot by accident at the age of twenty-one years. Myron 
O., born April t8, 1881. Maud M., born September 29, 1883, wife of 
John Redwav, a farmer of Ellisburgh. Sarah, born March 22, 1890. 

OTIS BROOKS, one of the most active men of his years, and a 
prominent business man of Jefferson county, is a native of the town 
of Antwerp, born March 29, 1S33. He is a son of a pioneer settler 
of the county, Julius Brooks. The latter was supposed to have been 
born in Connecticut, but may have been born in Champion, where his 
father was ar, early resident. 

Julius Brooks was reared in Champion, attending the district school, 
and aiding so far as he was able in clearing up a farm. He married 
Sally Otis, a nati\-e of the town of Rutland, a daughter of an early 
settler in that town. She died in 1836. leaving five children. Mr. 
Brooks located about 1830 in the northern part of Antwerp, in a neigh- 
borhood known as "New Connecticut," where he purchased a farm. 
This he sold, and moved to the town of Theresa. He bought and sold, 
until he was living on his fourth farm at the time of his death, in Octo- 
ber, 1874. at the age of seventy-four years. This farm consisted of 
one hundred acres, in the northwestern part of Antwerp. He was an 
industrious and successful farnier, strictly honest and \ery sensitive by 
nature. He was a Democrat in political sentiment, but joined the Re- 
publican party when the issues that precipitated the Civil war drove 
him from his former allegiance. 

For bis second wife, Mr. Brooks took Sally Davidson, daughter 
of John Davidson, of Fowler, St. Lawrence county. She was the 
mother of four children. The first of Mr. Brooks's children, Franklin, 
by name, was killed by a falling tree when eleven years of age. Almena, 
the second, became the wife of John Randall, of Antwerp, and died in 
Philadelphia. Edwin left home wdien eighteen years old, and was never 
heard from by his family. Sarah married Nathaniel Hanson, and now 
resides in Sterlingville. Otis receives further mention below. Lucinda, 
eldest and only surviving child of T^Irs. Sally (Davidson) Brooks, is 
the wife of Ely Hanson, residing at Rensselaer Falls. Achsah died 
unmarried, and Gurley died, at the age of eleven years. ]\Iarv died 
unmarried. Destin, fifth child, d'ed aged twenty-one years. 



3Ui GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Otis Brooks has spent his entire life in the vicinity of his birth- 
place, except three years passed in the Union army during the Civil war. 
He remained on the parental farm until eighteen years old, receiving 
such instruction as was afforded by the district school, until he reached 
the ao-e of sixteen. His life has been one of continued and industrious 
application, and he was early counted as a full man in farm labor. 
When eighteen year's old he left home to learn the carpenters trade, 
and about 1854 began to build houses on his own account. He con- 
structed a considerable number of houses in the village of Theresa and 
adjacent country, beside other buildings, maintaining a shop on the 
river for making doors and other parts of houses used in his business. 
His shop was swept away by a flood, causing him to abandon the busi- 
ness temporarily. 

On August II, 1862, he enlisted as a member of Company F, Tenth 
New York Heavy Artillery, and went shortly to the front. For a 
period of over twenty months this organization did garrison duty about 
the defenses of Washington, and was then sent into the field about 
Petersburg and the Shenandoah Valley. It saw active service at the 
battle of Petersburg and along the James river. Mr. Brooks was one 
of the fortunates who received no injury in the service, and the hard- 
ships endured do not seem to have diminished his vitality. He was 
discharged in June, 1865, having acted as duty sergeant, quartermaster 
and orderly. 

Returning to Theresa, he soon went to Oswego, where he was 
employed in house-building. In the spring of 1866 he bought a saw- 
mill at Wood's Settlement, adjoining the town of Antwerp, in the town 
of Wilna, and this he operated six years. Selling out, he removed 
to Carthage and erected a grist mill on the west side of the river, 
which he sold after operating two years. In 1874 he went to Philadel- 
phia, which village has since been his home, and bought a grist mill 
which he operated one year and sold. He then purchased a site one 
mile below the village of Philadelphia, where he built a sawmill and 
box factory. This w-as sold to his son after he had conducted it five 
or six years. In partnership with William Roberts he next constructed 
a steam sawmill at Philadelphia, which was in successful operation four 
years under the management of Roberts & Brooks, when the latter sold 
his share to the former. Mr. Brooks immediately bought an interest 
with George Strough in a lumber yard and wood-working shop at 
Cla3'ton. Not being able to agree well with his new partner, Mr. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 305 

Brooks employed a man to take his place in the operation of the plant, 
and busied himself elsewhere. For twelve years the business was oper- 
ated under the name of Strough & Brooks, after which the latter became 
sole owner by purchasing his partner's interest. After operating four 
years as sole proprietor, Mr. Brooks formed a stock company known 
as the Otis Brooks Lumber Company, and the concern is still managed 
by the same man who was placed in charge of Mr. Brooks's interest 
in 1888. In 1890 Mr. Brooks bought a cheese-box factory at Rensselaer 
Falls, which he owned and operated twelve years. For a short time he 
rented a steam mill for cutting box materia] at Antwerp, and in 1903 
purchased a null at Sterlingburg, a mile above Antwerp village, and 
took possession January i, 1904. The mill has a capacity of one hun- 
dred and twenty-five thousand cheese boxes per year, and also has 
facilities for grinding feed, being driven by the waters of Indian river. 
Here the proprietor is found during the week, not only superintending 
the work, but often bearing a hand anywhere that it seems to be needed. 
From this history it will be seen that he is energetic and industrious, 
and blessed with sound executive ability. Together with his men. he 
takes his breakfast at six o'clock in the morning, and with them pro- 
ceeds about the work of the day. He is respected and admired by all 
who know him, for his straightforward, manly qualities, his diligence 
in business, and upright treatment of all with whom he comes in con- 
tact. Notwithstanding the unfortunate loss of one eye he continues to 
fill a man's place anywhere about his establishments, with whose details 
he is thoroughly familiar. Of genial and kindly disposition, he attracts 
and holds friendships, and lives a most exemplary and happy life. He 
attends the Congregational church, with his family, and has always 
supported the principles of the Republican party, but has ever refused 
to be a candidate for public honors. 

Mr. Brooks was married March 4, 1857, to Celestia Ballard, who 
was born at Pamelia Four Corners, a daughter of Hiram and Susan 
(Wylie) Ballard. Of their three children, two are living. Grace, 
the second, died when about twenty-eight years old, Avhile the wife of 
Will Schofield. Frank, the eldest, resides in Philadelphia, and Alia 
B. resides with her parents in that town. 

MERRITT DARWIN GOTHAM, late of Brownville. where he 
was actively engaged in the manufacture of the celebrated Gotham 
screen, universally employed by paper makers, was a native of this 



306 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

county, a member of one of the oldest families of this vicinity. The 
family is of English origin, and began in this country with two brothers 
who came to this country to avoid draft into the British military service. 
John Gotham, a son of one of these, was a native of New Hampshire, 
born about 1783. When of age he came to the town of Watertown, 
and in 1805 married Nancy Penniman, a native of the same state as 
himself. Together they shared the labors, joys and privations, of pioneer 
life, and developed in the wilderness, a short distance east of the present 
city of Watertown, a fine farm. In 18 12 John Gotham enlisted as 
corporal under Captain Lampson, in defense of the frontier, and served 
in the battle of Sacketts Harbor. After the war he was active in the 
state militia, and was gradually promoted to the rank of colonel. His 
useful life ended November 15, 1840. when he was drowned in Lake 
Ontario, at the age of fifty-seven years. 

Tenery T., eldest of the four children of John Gotham, was born 
March 10, 18 13. in the town of Watertown, and continued at home until 
he was twenty-six years old. In 1839 lie was married to Miss Caroline 
Hutchinson, daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth Hutchinson, of Sara- 
toga county, this state. Their forefathers came from New England, and 
were of English descent. Mr. Gotham was a farmer in Lewis county 
three years, and then came back and settled near W^atertown city, where 
he continued to the end of his days. His family included three children 
— John H., Zeruah and Darwin B. The daughter became the wife of 
Merritt Fish and resided in the town of Rutland. 

Darwin B. Gotham, youngest child of Jenery T. and Caroline 
(Hutchinson) Gotham, became a skilled machinist, and was employed 
in various shops of the county. He was two years resident at Carthage, 
and was subsequently in the service of the Davis Sewing Machine Com- 
pany during its existence here. Having perfected his invention, the 
Gotham screen, he began its manufacture at Brownville, and achieved 
remarkable success. By his industry and frugality he accumulated a 
competence and, after the death of his partner, his eldest son, disposed 
of the patents and retired from active labor. His time is now chiefly 
occupied in the care of his investments in and about Watertown. His 
wife. Elizabeth Millette, is a native of Canada. They had two sons, 
Merritt D. and Ivan Jenery. The latter is a resident of Watertown, 
with his parents. 

Merritt D. Gotham was born March 12, 1869, in Carthage, and 
devoted his short life to the development of one of the greatest inven- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 307 

tions used in the art of paper-making. A man of sterling character, 
devoted to the interests of his family, the county and state, his demise 
was a great loss to the community in which he lived. 

His prelimmary education was obtained in the public schools of 
Watertown, and later he was a student in the high school of that city, 
graduating therefrom in the year 1887. At an early age he began his 
business career with his father, in the Brownville Iron Works, one of 
the leading industries in that section of the state, and, possessing an 
originative mind of rare ability and wonderful scope, he aided in per- 
fecting the celebrated Gotham screen, which was manufactured in the 
works, patented in the United States, Europe and Canada, and from 
the enormous sales thereof they realized a large income. Mr. Gotham 
was one of the ablest and most progressive business men in the com- 
munity, and the growth and development of commercial and industrial 
resources was in a large measure due to his enterprise and influence. 
His political views coincided with those promulgated and adopted by 
the Democratic party, but he took no active interest in political affairs. 
He was a communicant of Trinity Episcopal church. 

At Adams, New York, November 12, 1890, Mr. Gotham was mar- 
ried to Katherine Elizabeth Rounds, daughter of Edward Tyler and 
Louise Emily (Colton) Rounds, and shortly afterward they settled at 
Brownville. Mrs. Gotham was a graduate of the Mannsville and Adams 
(New York) schools, and is a communicant of the First Presbyterian 
church. The following named children were the issue of this marriage : 
Robert Merritt, born October 12, 1891 ; Louise Elizabeth, born Decem- 
ber 4, 1893, deceased; Marion E., born May 4, 1895. and Marietta 
Darwin, April 30, 1898. Mr. Gotham met with a sudden death on 
Main street, Watertown, on the evening of October 7, 1897. His loss 
was sincerely mourned, not only by his immediate relatives, but also by 
a large circle of business associates and friends. 

BURT WILFORD GIFFORD, one of the most intelligent and 
progressive citizens of the town of Watertown, is a scion of one of 
the old New England families. He has filled the office of town clerk 
for the past twenty-four years, and is numbered among the successful 
farmers of the town. 

(I) The first of authentic record among the ancestors of Mr. 
Gifford was Stephen GifTord, who was an original home lot owner, with 
all the privileges of the first proprietor, at Norwich, Connecticut, in 



SOS - GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

1659, At this time, at the dating of the deed of the first purchase, he 
is not believed to have been of age. He is supposed to have been bom 
about 1 64 1, and is tliouglit by a descendant to have been a son of 
William Gifford. a resident of Sandwich, Massachusetts. The latter 
died there April 9, 1687. He was one of the first proprietors of ^Nlon- 
niouth. New Jersey, where he lived from 1665 to 1670. Having pur- 
chased the land from the Indians, they received a patent from the 
crown on April 8, 1665. Being adherents of the Quaker faith they 
sufifered persecutions in both Massachusetts and New Jersey. William 
Gififord owned lands in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. 
The name of Stephen Gifford does not appear in the list of William's 
children now found. Stephen (IX) Gififord, married (first) Hannah 
Gove, May, 1667. She died January 24, 1670-1, and Mr. Gififord mar- 
ried (second) Hannah Gallup, JNIay 12, 1672. She was born 1645, 'i'"' 
died January 20, 1724; was a daughter of John Gallup, of Stonington, 
Connecticut. Stephen Gifford died January 20, 1724. There were two 
children of the first marriage, and four of the second. 

(II) Samuel, eldest child of Stephen and Hannah (Gove) Gif- 
ford, born 1668, died August 26, 1714. He moved from Norwich to 
Lebanon, same colony, m 1692. In 1685 he married Mary Calkins, 
daughter of John Calkins, of Norwich. She died July 30, 1784. Pre- 
vious to 1694 he moved to Windham, Connecticut. He was the father 
of eight children. 

(III) Samuel, eldest child of Samuel and Mary Gifford, was 
ixjrn September 23, 1694, in Windham, Connecticut, and died at Nor- 
wich, i7^2i- He was married January 12, 1719-20, to Experience 
Hyde, who was born September 7, 1700, and died September 30, 1753. 
They were the parents of eleven children. 

(IV) Ziba, eighth child and fourth son of Samuel (2) and Ex- 
perience (jifford, was born October 30, 1735, and was married Decem- 
ber 24, 1761, to Edith Gifford, both of Norwich. She was born July i, 
1742 and was the mother of ten children. 

(V) Stephen, tenth child and fifth son of Ziba and Edith Gif- 
ford. was born March i, 1780, at Ellington, Connecticut, and moved 
in 1810, to Watertown, New York, where he died October 14 1865. 
His education yvas supplied by the schools of his native town and he 
began teaching there in young manhood. In the spring of 1806 he 
visited this section and selected his land near the center of the town of 
Watertown, on which his son, Burt W., now resides. He began clear- 



GEXEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 309 

ing the land at once and returned to Ellington in the fall, teaching 
school again in the succeeding winter. This alternation was continued 
until 1810, when he married and brought his bride to the log cabin 
which he had previously erected. In all these trips, going and coming, 
he walked all the way from Ellington to Watertown. He taught school 
here in winter, and continued the improvement of his farm, which be- 
came one of the best in the town. He was an intelligent and substan- 
tial citizen, trusted and esteemed, and filled the office of town clerk 
eighteen years. He was a regular attendant of religious worship at 
the First Presbyterian church of Watertown. A man of fixed princi- 
ples and firm convictions, he sustained the Whig party, and was among 
the original Republicans of the state, supporting Fremont for president 
in 1856. 

He was twice married. The first wedding occurred January 8, 
1810, at Ellington, the bride being Hannah Warner. She was a native 
of Ellington, and died January 13. 1835, i" Watertown. Her children 
were: Franklin, torn January 17, 1813. died September following; 
Hannah, October 6, 1814; married Asaph Mather October 20, 1835, 
and died December 30, 1898; Stephen Otis, April 8, 1817, died Octo- 
ber 29, 1903. in Watertown City, New York; Harriet Ann, February 
5, 1821, married Gilbert L. Reed, January 25, 1842, and lives in Chi- 
cago, Illinois; Mary, April 17, 1823, married Thomas Read September 
25, 1843, died June 15, 1846; Delia, November 12, 1825; married Ches- 
ter C. Blodgett, December 18, 1846, and died October 18, 1895; Martha 
Amelia, April 6, 1828, married R. W. Sherman September 13, 1849, 
died August 17, 1869; George Warner, May 8, 1831, died Noveinber 
9, 1899, in Chicago, Illinois; Eli, August 22, 1834, died before one 
year old. The first child was a son, stillborn. Mr. Gifford was mar- 
ried September 8, 1835, to Mrs. Susan Jacobs, widow of John Jacobs, 
maiden name, Burt. 

She was born in 1801, and died August 25, 1841, leaving one 
surviving son, whose name heads this notice. A younger son, Byron 
D'Esting, died at the age of one year. 

Stephen Gifford was captain of a company in the war of 18 12, and 
participated in the battle of Sacketts Harbor. His commission was 
dated March 9, 1812, signed by Daniel D. Tompkins, governor of the 
state of New York, as commander of a company of the regiment of 
infantry in Jefiferson county, under Gershan Tuttle, iieutenant-colonel 
commandine. 



310 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

(VI) Burt Wilford Gifford, fifth son and eleventh child of 
Stephen Gifford, was born July 2^. 1837, on the paternal farm in 
W'atertown, and his education was finished in the public schools of 
the citv of Watertown. -He remained as his father's assistant in the 
tillage of the paternal acres, to whose ownership he succeeded on the 
death of his father, in 1865. This has since been his home, and he is 
a successful farmer and dairyman. He is a member of Trinity church 
in Watertown. His first presidential vote was cast for Abraham Lin- 
coln, and he has ever been an ardent supporter of the principles enun- 
ciated by the Republican party. He served the town four years as 
supervisor, and for the last twenty-four years has been town clerk. For 
over eight years he has been clerk of the secretary of the Jefferson 
County Agricultural Society. In 1873 he enlisted in Company B, Thir- 
ty-fifth Regiment New York National tjuard, which was later changed 
to the Thirty-fifth Battalion, in which he was a member of Company 
D until his honorable discharge, February 3, 1880. He is a member 
of Watertown Grange, No. 7. 

Mr. Gifford is one of the leading citizens of his native town, where 
he has resided all his life, during most of the time filling positions of 
honor and trust. As an official he is careful, thoughtful and correct, 
and looks after the best interests of the public. As a citizen he is one 
of the foremost in supporting those measures that are intended to pro- 
mote a higher citizenship and morality of the people. As a neighbor 
he is kind and considerate, and as a husband and father he is most 
exemplary. 

He was married July 15, 1861, at Walesville, Oneida county. New 
York, to Miss Helen Augusta Walker, daughter of John and Mary 
(Soules) Walker. She was born April 28, 1835, in the town of New 
Hartford, New York. John Walker was born in 1804 in Yorkshire, 
England, and died December 3. 1843, in Oneida county, where he fol- 
lowed shoemaking. His wife, !Mary Soules, was born March 19, 1807, 
in New Flampshire, and survived him less than two years, passing 
away May 9. 1845. Their children were: Josiah W., born February 
22, 1833; Helen Augusta, April 2H. 1835; James Edward, September 
16. 1836, served in the Union army through the Civil war and died 
in 1877; Charles Henry. July 24, 1837, was killed at the battle of 
Bull Run, in July, 1862; John W., August 3, 1838; Mary Jane, No- 
vember y, 184 1, died Fayetteville. New York, in 1865; Caroline and 




S'^^S^(^i^;2^PLc/X 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 311 

Cornelia, February 8, 1844: Cornelia died October 29, 1881, in 
Utica, New York. 

Tbe youngest of the three children of Mr. and Mrs. Gifford is a 
resident of Canton, St. Lawrence county, New York. She was born 
September 29, 1869, in Watertown, and was married October 10, 1900, 
to Hugh Mcintosh, a shoe merchant of Canton. Their only child, 
Helen Gifford Mcintosh, was born July 4, 1902, at Canton. The first 
child of Mr. and Mrs. Gifford, Henry Grant, was born July 13, 1863, 
and died August 3, 1887. Susie Mary, born September 3, 1866, died 
February 22, 1881. 

SAMUEL B. GRENELL, or as he is more familiarly known, 
"Capt. Samuel," proprietor of Grenell Island Park, and the pioneer 
in the purchase of any island in the St. Lawrence river, which section 
is now world-famed for its beauty and grandeur, was born in Adams, 
Jeiiferson county. New York. November 10, 1818, a son of Ezra and 
Phoebe (Barker) Grenell. 

Ezra Grenell (father) was a native of Connecticut, whence he re- 
moved to Adams, Jefferson county, New York, where he remained 
ten years engaged in farming. He r3sided for a similar period of time 
in Hounsfield, not far from the old Blanchard stand, now the Half-Way 
House on the road from Watertown to Sackets Harbor. He then re- 
moved to Antwerp and purchased the Roselle Randall farm, which he 
operated for a few years. The house stood where the railroad station 
is now located, in the village of Antwerp. He finally located in La- 
fargeville, where his death occurred at the age of eighty-two. His wife, 
Phoebe (Barker) Grenell, a native of Saratoga county, New York, bore 
him four children, two of whom are living at the present time (1904) : 
Samuel B., the eldest, mentioned at length hereinafter; and Herman, 
a retired hotelkeeper, who resides at Evans Mills. Mrs. Grenell died 
in the fifty-seventh year of her age. Mr. and Mrs. Grenell were mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, and were loved and respected 
by a wide circle of friends. 

Samuel B. Grenell resided in his native town until he was four 
years of age, his education being acquired in the various towns in which 
his parents resided during his boyhood years. He removed from La- 
fargeville, where his father died, to Omar, and here he conducted a 
hotel successfully for six years. While here he saw an advertisement 
in the paper of four islands for sale in the St. Lawrence river, they 



312 GEXEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

being owned by the daugliter of Henry Yates; she died, leaving no 
heirs, and, the property being thrown into the courts, the judge appointed 
a referee to dispose of it. He purchased Jeffers Island for a nominal 
sum, and at that time he was offered any of the small islands in the 
river from Alexandria Bay to Clayton for fifty cents, they not being 
considered of any value. The government name for the island was 
"Stewart's" Island. It was given the name of "Jefifers" by a man who 
called himself by that name. The islands were then a dense forest, and 
plenty of deer and fish abounded in the woods and river. Two men 
rowing among the isalnds in those early days discovered near them 
on the shore a smoke arising from some habitation. Out of curiosity 
they made a landing, and made the acquaintance of a man who called 
himself Jeffers, but whether that was his real or assumed name, they 
had of course no way of ascertaining. He had built a log shanty about 
twelve feet square, and had cunningly placed it against a large rock, 
which formed the back of his fire-place. Here he lived many years, 
fishing, hunting and raising vegetables on a little spot of land which 
he cleared. As the islands became more settled this man went to 
Gananoque, Canada, where he died. A little later a French family by 
the name of Pecor squatted on the island, and were still there when 
Mr. Grenell purchased it about the year 1868. 

Mr. Grenell was also the pioneer in the line of hotel keeping in 
the Thousand Islands, having erected, in 1870, the first public place for 
the entertainment of guests on the island he purchased, this being the 
first hotel on any of the islands in the St. Lawrence, located on the 
spot where stood the famous Pullman House that was destroyed by fire 
in September, 1904. This he conducted for thirty years, and during this 
time it became one of the most celebrated hotels in the section. It was 
the Iieadquarters of fishermen, sportsmen, etc., the good cheer that pre- 
vailed there making it a most popular resort. A band of musicians fur- 
nished dance music, and everything that could conduce to the comfort 
and pleasure of the guests, was provided. In 1894 Mr. Grenell laid out 
Grenell Park, which is one of the most prominent on the river. The 
old hotel was torn down, and the fine new one, "Pullman's," recently 
burned, took its jilace. Tiie old hotel was calculated to accommodate 
aljout twenty people, but tlie numl^er was frequently increased to forty 
or forty-five. The new one had accommodations for one hundred 
guests. Mr. Grenell also built a fine dock, at a cost of thirteen hundred 
dollars, about one-half mile from the Thousand Island Park, four miles 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 313 

below Clayton, six miles above Alexandria Bay, and at this dock boats 
land nearly every hour in the day, thus affording ready access to trains 
from all parts of the country. During the same year he also laid out 
Stewart's Island into 177 lots, containing in all a trifle over one hun- 
dred acres, on which are erected fifty cottages. Captain Grenell has 
devoted considerable time and attention to the development of this island 
and in contributing to the comfort of the cottagers. A beautiful chapel 
has been built, to which he generously donated over four hundred dol- 
lars, he being deacon and one of the trustees of the Methodist Episcopal 
church. To accommodate the wants of the many cottagers Mr. Grenell, 
in 1892, opened his present store on the island, which he has since con- 
ducted. He had the postoffice established, which is also located in this 
store, and during the two terms of Cleveland's administration served 
as postmaster, being a Democrat in politics, and in the affairs of this 
party has taken an active interest. When a young man a popular mili- 
tary company was organized in this section, known as the "Flood 
Wood," and in this he held the office of lieutenant. 

Mr. Grenell was united in marriage to Lucy A. Jennison, who 
was born August 21, 1820, in Redwood, Jefferson county, New York, 
daughter of Luther Jennison, a patent leather finisher. He resided for 
some years in Red^vood, New York, when he was in the lumber busi- 
ness, later going to Watertown, where he followed his trade of patent 
leather finisher. Here he died at sixty-six years of age. Mrs. Grenell 
was one of seven children, all now deceased. Five children were born 
to Mr. and Mrs. Grenell, one of whom is living at the present time 
(1904). Isabella, who became the wife of Gerald Gates, of Antwerp, 
New York, is now deceased, and one child was born to them, Bertha, 
now the wife of Foley McComber, and mother of three children. Myron 
W., who resides with his father on the island, is the only one living. 
He married Susan Lachey, and their four children are married and 
reside in Michigan, namely, Charles Samuel ; Fred M. ; Nellie, who mar- 
ried Adelbert Reed and has one child. Spray ; Lulu, who married Earl 
Prentice. 

After more than sixty years of happy married life, Mrs. Grenell died, 
July 24, 1901, at the advanced age of eighty-one years. She was a most 
estimable woman, performed the duties of wife and mother in a faithful 
and conscientious manner, and was of the greatest assistance to her 
husband throughout his active and useful career. At the time of her 
death, as a mark of respect tn her memory, the flags on all the vessels 



314 GENEALOGICAL AXD FAMILY HISTORY. 

plying on the St. Lawrence river were lowered to half mast, the only 
instance of the kind known in the history of this section. 

Mr. Grenell is a genial, cultured, and refined gentleman, a pleasant 
conversationalist, and he never wearies of pointing out the Ijeauties 
of his surroundings. He has always been enterprising and progressive, 
not satisfied to settle down and merely enjoy what he has acquired, but 
like the tvpical American is anxious to keep near the top and improve 
on what his ancestors have bestowed upon him. The portraits of this 
venerable couple as found in the pages of this work will, it is thought, 
be a source of gratification to their many friends. 

WILSON. When the Scotch people migrated in large numbers 
to northern L"eland, they acted from the same motives as those of the 
Puritans who peopled New England. Being close to their native home 
they were able to keep up communication with relatives and former 
associates. They did not mingle or amalgamate with their surround- 
ing people, and thus preserved their traditions, speech and manners, and 
have been said by a Scotchman to be "more Scotch than the Scotch." 
Their experience developed in them a spirit of enterprise which soon 
led to further emigration, and, thus we find that considerable districts 
in New Hampshire and Vermont were originally settled by these 
Scotch-Irish people whose industry, sturdy rectitude and -cheerful dis- 
position set an excellent example to their neighbors and made a lasting 
impression upon the character of the American people. Among the 
most loyal of citizens, they have inculcated a respect for order, and they 
and their descendants have been among the most worthy of any com- 
munity where found. 

(I) Alexander Wilson came from Londonderry, Ireland, to Lon- 
donderry, New^ Hampshire, soon after the first settlement there in 1719. 
He was a native of Ireland, of Scotch ancestry, like all his neighbors. 
He settled on a farm in South Range, known as the Alexis Proctor 
place, now owned by a Mr. Palmer. This was one of the "exempted 
farms," and on account of his heroic service at the siege of London- 
derry, Ireland, in 1688-89, was exempted from taxation as long as the 
colony remained under British rule. He died there March 4, 1752, 
aged ninety-three years. 

(II) James, son of Alexander ^^'ilson, was born in Ireland in 
1680, and came with his father to America, succeeding to the paternal 
farm here. He married Janet Taggart, who died January 12, 1800, 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 315 

aged ninety-seven years. They had thirteen children, all born in Lon- 
donderry, New Hampshire, as follows: Agnes, August 2, 1728; 
George, June 19, 1730; Alexander, May 5, 1731; James, May 15, 
1733; Mary, February 5, 1735; Janet, April 20, 1737; John, January 
23, 1739; Samuel (died young, 1742); Annis, September 25, 1743; 
Margaret, August 13, 1744; Eleanor, January 23, 1746; Samuel, March 
13, 1747; George, June 19, 1748. The second was killed, before man- 
hood, in a grist mill. 

(III) George, the youngest child of James and Janet (Taggart) 
Wilson, born 1748, as above noted, settled near Bissell's Camp, in the 
northern part of Windham, adjoining Londonderry, IvTew Hampshire. 
He married Janet, daughter of Alexander Simpson, who was born Jan- 
uary 22, 1750, and their children were born as follows, all in Wind- 
ham; Alexander, January 11, 1775; James, August 2, 1776; Jannet, 
April II, 1778; Samuel, January 22, 1780; John Lindsay, November 4, 
1781; Joseph, November 23, 1783 (settled in Vermont); Benjamin, 
October 14, 1785 (lived in Chelsea, Massachusetts). The eldest oc- 
cupied the paternal homestead, and died March 16, 1861, in Lowell, 
Massachusetts. The second, third and fourth sons removed to the 
northern part of the town of Rutland, then part of Watertown, New 
York, in 1801-02. 

(IV) Samuel Wilson, third son and fourth child of George and 
Janet (Simpson) Wilson, was born January 22, 1780, as above noted, 
and was twenty-two years old when he came to Jefferson county. He 
settled in Rutland Hollow, then a part of the town of Watertown, and 
at once began clearing his land and carved out a home in the wilder- 
ness, enduring all the hardships and privations common to the pioneers) 
of that day. He possessed the qualities necessary in a successful 
pioneer, having strong determination, industry and prudence in man- 
agement, and became one of the prosperous farmers of this section. He 
died in Rutland, at the age of fifty-six years. 

Mr. Wilson was married about 1805 to Susan Tamblin, and their 
children were as follows: William Harris and Henry, both further 
mentioned below; Samuel, February 15, 181 1, married Lucy Wood- 
ward November 11, 1840, died April 3, 1884; Benjamin, March 18, 
1813, married Mahala Wardsworth November 17, 1835. Mr. Wilson 
married (second) December 20, 1813, Copea Wakefield, and their 
children were: Mary, born January 8, 18 15, married Elisha Wake- 
field September 16, 1839; Charles, August 19, 1820, died March 26, 



316 GENEALOGICAL AXD FAMILY HISTORY. 

1900; Susan, March 6, 1822, died unmarried: Laura J. May 8, 1824, 
married Edwin C. White November 14, 1842. 

(V) WilHam Harris Wilson, eldest child of Samuel and Susan 
(Tamblin) Wilson, was born March 4. 1807, in the town of Rutland, 
and was reared on the farm of his father, remaining at home until he 
attained his majority, receiving such education as the common school 
of his home district afiforded. He purchased a farm near his father, 
and throughout his active life continued tilling it. He was a respected 
citizen, trusted with the administration of town of¥ices, and esteemed 
as a man of moral worth. He was a member of the First Baptist 
church of Watertown, in which he served many years as trustee and 
deacon. In early life he was a Democrat in politics, l>ut espoused the 
cause of freedom and affiliated with the Republican party from its in- 
ception until his death. He acted as road commissioner and assessor of 
his town, and no aspersions were ever cast on -his integrity. 

^Ir. Wilson was married April 19, 1834, to Freelove Woodward, 
daughter of Ebenezer and Amy (Vebber) Woodward. She was born 
April 19, 1808, in the town of Rutland. Following is a brief account 
of their children: Lycurgus A., born 1836, lived to the age of two 
and one-half years. William Harris, December 20, 1838, is noticed at 
length later. Frank Ebenezer receives further mention below. Louisa 
E.. born September 28. 1845. married Orrin E. Carter, and was the 
mother of three children. Augusta married C. I^L Frink, and resides in 
Watertown. Leon E. is assistant manager of the Palmer House, in 
Chicago. Louisa E. married Fred E. Slater and resides in Water- 
town. 

William H. Wilson, father of the above family, died November 
15, 1887, well along in his eighty-first year. His wife passed away De- 
cember 21, 1890, near the close of her eighty-second year. 

(V) Henry Wilson, son of Samuel and Susan (Tamblin) W^il- 
son, was born in the town of Rutland, Jefiferson county. New York, July 
6, 1808. His education was received in the common schools of his 
native town. He remained with his father until he arrived at the age 
of manhood, when he began for himself by working out on a farm for 
thirteen dollars a month until he accumulated sufficient money to pur- 
chase a small farm in the town of Philadelphia, Stone county. Here 
he began farming for himself, and by purchasing at different times 
accumulated a fine farm of over three hundred acres, and became one 
of the leading farmers in his town. Here he resided until 1864, when 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 317 

he removed to Watertowii, where he purchased a fine farm which is 
now occupied by liis son, Henry S. Wilson. While a resident of the 
town of Philadelphia, this county, he, with his brother-in-law, Edwin 
White, operated a distillery in Watertown for a number of years under 
tl:e firm name of White & Wilson. 

In religious belief he was a Universalist, and was a diligent stu^ 
dent of the Bible. He was a man respected and beloved by his many 
friends in Jefferson county. 

He married, March 13, 1836, Nancy Clarke, daughter of Samuel 
and Martha (Waite) Clarke. She was born November 28, 1813, and 
died January 22, 1862. Their children were : Cornelia, bom August 
16, 1839, married Sidney Keyes; she died January 24, 1882. 
Charles B., born December 14, 1841, resides in town of Philadelphia, 
and is a farmer. Edwin, born December 17, 1842, resides in the village 
of Philadelphia, and is a retired farmer. Francis, born March 9, 1844, 
proprietor of a hotel in the village of Philadelphia. Irvin, born March 
21, 1846, resides in Hellena, California. Amelia, born May 26, 1848, 
died April 2y, 1890. 

His second marriage occurred December 18, 1863, to Sarah N. 
Clarke, a sister of his first wife. There were no children by this mar- 
riage. He died at the home where his son Henry Samuel now resides, 
March 25, 1872. His wife died May 12, 1884. 

Henry Samuel Wilson, son of Henry and Nancy (Clarke) Wil- 
son, was born in the town of Philadelphia, Jefferson county. New York, 
November 23, 1849. His education was secured in the public schools 
of his native town, and at the high school of the city of Watertown. He 
remained with his father and assisted him in conducting his extensive 
farm in the town of W^atertown, where his father located in 1864, when 
the son was fourteen years of age. Here he has remained, carrying 
on the farm successfully, to the present time. He is a member of 
Watertown Grange No. 7. Mr. Wilson is one of the representative 
citizens of his town, and holds the respect and confidence of his fellov/ 
townsmen. 

He married. December 15, 1875, Emma Isadora Clarke, born in 
Diana, Lewis county. New York. She was bom July 17, 1854, daugh- 
ter of Horace and Maria (Palmer) Clarke. Her father was a farmer, 
born in the town of Le Ray, Jefferson county. New York, April 13, 
1812. His second wife was born July 21, 1823. They were married 



318 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

September 26, 1844. He died No\'eniber 22, 1896, and she died October 
18, 1887. 

Her father, Horace Clarke, was married (first) January 8, 1835, 
to Rachel Roberts, who was born February 7, 18 15, and died February 
5, 1843. Their children were: Orin Perry, born October 14, 1835, 
died June 20, 1897. George Washington, born November 23, 1837, 
resides in the town of Philadelphia, Jefferson county, New York, and 
is a fanner. Zelotes, born July 12, 1840, moved to \\'isconsin. Horace 
Clarke's second marriage occurred September 26, 1844, to Mira Palmer. 
Their children were Charles Eugene, Ixirn March 8, 1849, resides in 
Diana, Lewis county. New York. Ferdinand De Witt, born July 4, 
1851, resides at Benson Mines, St. Lawrence county; and Emma Isadora, 
born July 17, 1854. 

Samuel Clarke, father of Horace Clarke, married Martha Waite. 
James Clarke, father of Samuel Clarke, was born in England, and was 
a sea captain, and is supposed to have settled in Rhode Island. 

(VI) Frank Ebenezer Wilson, third son and child of William 
H. and Freelove (Woodward) Wilson, was born June 6, 1843, on the 
homestead in Rutland, which he now owns, and which has been a cen- 
tury in the family, covering three generations. He was educated in the 
public schools of his native town and of the city of Watertown, was 
early accustomed to farm labor, and assisted his father, caring for his 
parents in their old age, ultimately succeeding to the ownership of the 
homestead. He continued in agricultural pursuits until the year 1890, 
when he removed to the city of Watertown and engaged in the whole- 
sale jobbing of salt. For nine years he continued successfully in this 
trade, doing a very extensive business, often making single sales of 
hundreds of carloads. Since 1899 he has operated with advantage to- 
himself in real estate, and acts as loan agent for the Philadelphia Loan 
and Trust Company, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His territory 
covers the six northern counties of this state, and he has loaned in that 
field large sums of money in the aggregate for his principal. Mr. Wil- 
son affiliates with Watertown Lodge No. 49, and Watertown Chapter 
No. 59, of the Masonic order : and is a member of Watertown Grange, 
Number 7, of which he has been secretary for the past nineteen years, 
being assisted by iiis wife in discharging the duties of that position. 
He is not governed by partisan rule, and acts upon his individual judg- 
ment in the exercise of the franchise. 

Mr. Wilson was married January 17. 1872, to Fanny Mary Potter, 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 3iy 

daughter of Benjamin F. and Rachel A. Potter, of Lewis county, New 
York {see Potter). She was born August 17, 1847, i" West Turin, 
and is the mother of two children, namely : Myrtle L. and Carrie 
Florence. The latter died December 29, 1892, at the age of ten years. 
Myrtle L. Wilson was born September 28, 1876, in Rutland, and became 
the wife of Charles B. Parsons, manager and agent of the Associated 
Press at Walertown. Their children are: Bernice E., born September 
26, 1896, and Wayne \\'ilson, June 6, 1898. The latter celebrates his 
birthday with his maternal grandfather, whose anniversary occurs on 
the same date. 

Frank Ebenezer Wilson is one of Watertown's strong and influ- 
ential citizens, one whose honor and business integrity are universally 
acknowledged, and a worthy representative of a strong ancestry, noted 
through centuries for unimpeachable integrity, and all the homely vir- 
tues of Christian character. 

(V) Samuel (2) Wilson, third son and child of Samuel (i) 
and Susan (Tamblin) Wilson, was born February 15, 181 1, in Rutland, 
and attended the school adjacent to his native home. On attaining 
manhood he purchased the second farm above his father's and con- 
tinued to live upon and till it until 1849. For some years succeeding 
this date he lived on and tilled the Woodworth farm at East Water- 
town, and his last days were passed upon the James Wilson farm in 
Rutland, where he was retired from active labor, and where his death 
occurred April 3, 1884. He was baptized in 1858, and continued a 
faithful member of the Watertown Baptist church from that time, serv- 
ing for many years as deacon. His wife became a member of the same 
society in 1840 by letter from the Rutland North church. Mr. Wilson 
was a member of Watertown Grange, and served as its treasurer for 
several years. He was a Whig in politics for some years, and joined 
the Republican party upon its formation. While not a politician, he 
recognized the responsibilities of citizenship, and performed such public 
duties as seemed to devolve upon him. acting for some time as road 
commissioner of the town of Watertown. 

He was married November 11, 1840, to Lucy Woodward, who 
was born February 4, 1816, daughter of James and Lucy (Otis) Wood- 
ward. She died March 7, 1893, in the city of Watertown, at the resi- 
dence of her daughter, Mrs. George F. Dressor. 

Samuel Wilson (2) was a worthy representative of his Scotch 
ancestry — temperate, prudent, consistent, thoughtful, and honorable to- 



320 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

v.ard all mankind. He was a man of the deepest Christian convictions, 
tempered with that love which reflects sunshine over all. As a citizen, 
he was of the best type, a supporter of all measures for the betterment 
of town, state and nation. As a husband and father he was kind, true 
and loving. His children were : Melvin Samuel, Hellen Lucy, Herbert 
James, Walter Monroe, Josephine Elizabeth, Mary Bell and Eva Lo- 
retta. The fifth and seventh died unmarried. 

(VI) Melvin Samuel Wilson was born November i8, 1841, and 
died late in December, 1902; in southeastern California. He married 
Alice Dickerson, who died March 8, 1888. Their only child, Clinton 
Lewis Wilson, resides in Los Gatos, California. 

(\T) Helen Lucy Wilson was born February 7, 1843, and was 
married July 26, 1866, to George F. Dressor. (See Dressor, VHI). 

(VI) Herbert James Wilson was born August 29, 1845, ''"d died 
January 9, 1888. Lie was married July 2, 1871, to Vesta Brown, and 
they were the parents of a daughter, Grace. 

(VI) Walter Monroe Wilson was born December 25, 1847, ^""^ 
resides in Watertown, North Dakota. He was married October 26, 
1878. to Clara E. Kimler, of Leroy, Illinois, and they have a daughter, 
Eva Florence, born July 2, 1882. 

(VI) Mary Bell Wilson was born February 17, 1852, and was 
married February 28, 1872, to Starr H. Thomson. They resided in 
Rutland Hollow, where Mr. Thomson died April 2y, 1903, leaving, 
beside his widow, three daughters, Lena Bell, Ina May and Clara Jessie. 
The first married Frank M. Churchill, a farmer of South Rutland, and 
they have two sons. Earl Baxter and Neil Starr. Ina May Thomson 
married Wilbur Wadsworth. and resides in Rutland Hollow. Clara 
Jessie Thomson became the wife of Charles Howard, and died Decem- 
ber 10, 1900, in Rutland Hollow, leaving a son, Arthur. 

POTTER. This is a name whose representatives have borne their 
part in the settlement and development of this Nation, beginning with 
the early colonial period and extending over the entire history of the 
United States. The name has been borne to high places in the church, 
the halls of legislation, at the bar and on the bench, in literature, the 
arts and sciences, and wherever their country needed them in time of 
peace or war. The pioneer annals of Rhode Island, Connecticut, New 
York and New Jersey teem with this name. Sir Robert Potter visited 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 321 

this continent in 1634, and, with his associates, gave the name to War- 
wick, Rhode Island, from his home county in England. 

(I) George Potter, born in England, was among the early set- 
tlers of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, where he died in middle life. His 
widow married Nicholas Niles. 

(II) Abel, son of George Potter, married Rachel Warner, daugh- 
ter of John and Priscilla Warner, April 11, 1669. He died in 1692. 

(III) John, son of Abel and Priscilla (Warner) Potter, was born 
in 1680, at Warwick, Rhode Island, and was married February 19, 
1702, to Joan Dearborn. He died in 1770, aged ninety years. 

{lY) Joseph, son of John and Joan (Dearborn) Potter, was 
born in 1815, in Coventry, Rhode Island, and died in 1785, aged seventy 
years. He was married September 11, 1742, to Freelove Bennett, who 
was born in 1723. 

(V) Samuel, son of Joseph and Freelove (Bennett) Potter, was 
born May 24. 1745, in Coventry. Rhode Island, and married (first) 
Lydia Matteson, wlio died in 1812. He married (second) Mary Jack- 
son. 

(VI) Joseph, son of Samuel and Lydia (Matteson) Potter, was 
born March 16. 1775, in Coventry, and was married February i, 1795, 
to Phebe Adams. She was born in 1775, and died in 1859. He died 
January 28, 1858, at Floyd, New York. He was a man of fine pres- 
ence, being over six feet tall, and engaged in agriculture in Floyd. He 
possessed commanding" intellect, as well as physique, and exercised a 
large influence in his vicinity. 

(VII) Benjamin Franklin Potter, son of Joseph and Phebe 
(Adams) Potter, was born September 29. 1817, in Floyd, New York, 
and received a good echication. For many years he was engaged in 
teaching, and subsequently settled in West Turin, Lewis county, where 
he engaged in farming and hop culture until his death. February 23, 
1883. He was an attendant of the Universalist church, and was a 
Democrat in politics. He served many years as assessor and supervisor 
of his town, and took great interest in education, serving long as trustee 
of his school district. He enjoyed the respect of his townsmen for his 
faithfulness as an official and his high character as a man. 

Mr. Potter was married March 11. 1846. to Rachel A. Case, daugh- 
ter of Pardon C. and Marcia (Salmons) Case. She is now living, and 
resides on the homestead in West Turin, with three of her children. 
Brief mention of all her children follows : Fannie Marv Potter, born 



322 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

August i6, 1848, in Turin, was married January 17, 1872, to Frank 
E. Wilson, a prosperous business man of Watertown, New York (see 
Wilson). Emmett Eugene, born February 16, 1850, in 'Turin, resides 
on the homestead where he was horn. Marshall Ney, born October 4, 
1 85 1, was married December 20, 1882. to Mary Rees, who is now de- 
ceased. He married for his second wife, Clara h\\tn. Flora A., born 
November 22, 1853, was married December 16, 1874, to Charles Cro- 
foot. Frank A., born February 3, 1856, was married in March, 1885, 
to Minnie E. Allen, and died in 1890. Samuel C, born February 28, 
1858, married Nellie Allen. Ida M. L., born December 20, i860, resides 
with her mother, unmarried. Alice M., born July 8, 1863, resides on the 
homestead, also unmarried. 

GAMBLE. This name has been for a considerable period identi- 
fied with the manufacturing interests of Jefferson count)', and is de- 
scended from Scotch-Irish ancestors. The first of whom record is now 
found, William Gamble, was a native of New Hampshire, and had a 
family of thirteen children. One of these, John Gamble, was born May 
7, 1809, at Greenwich. Washington county, New York, and is now a 
resident of West Camden, this state, aged ninet3'-five years. He came to 
that town when a young man, engaged in farming, and there married, 
January 12, 1836, Sophronia Curtis, a native of the town, daughter of 
Ambrose Curtis, who was bom in Litchfield county, Connecticut. Mrs. 
Sophronia Gamble was born April 17, 1815, in Camden, and passed 
away in April, 1903, at her home in West Camden. 

John Wesley, eldest child of John and Sophronia Gamble, was 
born April 11, 1837, on his father's farm, in the town of Florence, 
Oneida county. New York, where he grew up and was educated, in the 
public schools. He remained with his father until twenty years old, 
and then began his railroad career as assistant to his uncle, Leverett 
Munson. station agent at West Camden, and succeeded him in 1858, 
as station agent of the Rome, \\'atertown & Ogdensburg Railroad in 
his native place, from which position he was promoted, in 1862, to that 
of assistant freight agent, with headquarters at Watertown. In 1868 
he bought a home on State street, and permanently settled his family 
in Watertown. Here he was cut off in the opening of a most promis- 
ing career, his death occurring May 2, 1870, at the age of thirty-three 
years. In the few years that he resided here he made many friends 
among business associates and the residents of the citv. He was a 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 323 

member of the Presbyterian church of Watertown, and was respected 
by all with whom he came in contact, for his manly worth. He was 
married January ii, 1859, to Mary Annis, daughter of Selden Munson, 
of West Camden (see Munson 7). She now resides in Watertown. 
Their children were four in number, of whom the youngest, George 
Curtis, died in infancy. The others, Myra D., Charles Willard and 
John Munson, reside in Watertown. 

Charles Willard Gamble, elder son of John W. Gamble, was born 
June 12, 1864, in West Camden, and w^s only four years of age when 
he came to Watertown with his parents. At six years of age he was 
robbed of a father's care by the grim destroyer. He completed the 
course of the public schools, graduating at the age of eighteen years 
from the ^Vatertown high school. Beginning business life as a clerk 
in the grocery store of Inglehart & Brown, he continued four years in 
the same store, during which period its ownership was three times 
changed. Having become familiar with the trade, he formed a part- 
nership with E. H. Bohl. which continued nearly ele\'en years under the 
title of Bohl & Gamble, in the retail grocery business. In 1897 he pur- 
chased an interest in the paper manufacturing business previously estab- 
lished by his brother, and which is described at some length in a follow- 
ing paragraph; covering the business history of the latter. This is 
now in a prosperous condition, the natural result of the industrious 
application and executive ability of the owners. Mr. Gamble is a 
member of the First Presbyterian church, and endeavors to perform his 
duty in promoting the welfare of his home community. He seeks to 
secure good government by voting for the principles he deems sound, 
those promulgated by Republican platforms, but gives no time to "prac- 
tical politics." 

Mr. Gamble was married February 19, 1900, to Miss Jessie F. 
Becker, who w-as born October 24, 1862, at Three-Mile Bay, a daughter 
of Calvin H. and Barbara E. (Klock) Becker, descendants of old Dutch 
families of central New York, and now residing at Pulaski, this state. 
Two children complete the family of Mr. Gamble, namely, Barbara 
Annis and Calvin Wesley. 

Calvin H. Becker is one of the old-time lake navigators, having 
sailed at the age of eighteen years. He continued in this line of life 
forty-three consecutive seasons, and during thirty-six of them was 
captain of the crafts upon which he sailed. 

John Munson Gamble, second son and third child of John \\\ and 



32i GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Mary A. (Alunsuii) Gamble, was born March 28, 1866, in West Cam- 
den, antl was but two years old when he came with his parents to \\'ater- 
town, and was only four years of age when death deprived him of a 
father. Reared by a mother of sterling character, embodying the traits 
of a long line ot worthy ancestors, he was well grounded in the virtues 
of the New England people. His education was supplied by the pulilic 
schools of Watertown, and he left school at the age of seventeen years 
to enter upon a business career which has proven most successful. His 
first empli.iyment was in a lumber yard, and on arriving at his majority 
he engaged in the purchase and shipment of hay to the large markets. 
In 189 1 he entered the office of C. R. Remington & Son, in Watertown, 
manufacturers of paper, to acquaint himself with the business. In the 
following year he was associated with C. H. Remington in forming 
the Brownviile Paper Company, and they leased (afterward purchas- 
ing) the ])lant of the Siouski Paper Company, at the nortii end of the 
Black river bridge, in Brownville village. Here they commenced the 
production of fine paper and specialties, and were highly successful. 
Tliis is one of the most notable factory buildings in the village. It is 
believed by many residents that the row of stone buildings on the 
street leading to the bridge was erected by the government for barracks 
during the war of 1812, but this is unfounded. It is no mistake, how- 
ever, to believe that the Brownville Paper Company, consisting of C. H. 
Remington and J. ]\Iunson Gamble, conducted h flourishing business in 
these buildings. The company was incorporated March 6, 1893, with 
C. H. Remington as president and treasurer, and J. M. Gamble as sec- 
retary. Subsequently, Mr. S. A. Upham purchased Mr. Remington's 
interest, and in 1897 Charles Willard Gamble became a partner. In that 
year the new management acquired by purchase the plant and business 
of the Globe Paper and Fibre Company, on the south side of the river, 
which was operated very successfully, in connection with the other 
plant, until it was consumed by fire, in December, 1900. In the spring 
of 1901 the Gamble brothers sold out their interest in the Brownville 
Paper Company and organized the Brownville Board Compan\-, with 
J. Munson Gamble as ])resident, and C. Willard Gamble as secretary 
ar.d treasurer. The building erected by them on the former site of the 
filire plant is one of the finest establishments of its kind in the county, 
and their business is in a flourishing condition. 

Great as are Mr. Gamble's business activities, he is always mindful 
of his duties as a citizen, and takes a keen interest in all that pertains 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 325 

to the welfare and advancement of the community, of his state and the 
nation. Beheving in the principles and policies avowed by the Repub- 
lican party, he gi\es it intelligent and loyal support, but is not a seeker 
alter personal preferment or emoluments along political lines. He is a 
faithful member of the Presbyterian church of Watertown. 

Mr. Gamble married, at Chicago. June 12. 1895, Miss Blanche E., 
daughter of James L. Chapman. The children of the family are: 
Agnes Josephine, Mary Annis, Sarah Ethelwyn and John \\'esley. ^Ir. 
Gamble's remote ancestors were farmers, and he might have distin- 
guished himself as an agriculturist, without doubt, but the loss of a 
scientific farmer has been recompensed by the addition of a sound busi- 
ness man to the activities of this locality, in which the paper-making 
industry almost rivals the ancient and important one of agriculture. 
Realizing that intelligent antl persistent endeavor is essential to success 
in any walk of life, it may safely be said that Mr. Gamble is one of 
those energetic and progressive spirits who achieve creditable results 
in any line of endeavor undertaken. 

James L. Chapman, father of i\Irs. Gamble, is a native of Marcellus, 
New York, born January 26, 1829. His wife. Agnes Josephine Barnes, 
was born at Altmar, this state, March 19, 1838, and is a cousin ot 
Mary A., widow of John W. Gamble. Agnes Josephine (Barnes) 
Chapman's parents, Wilbert and Annis (Stanton) Barnes, were natives 
of Camden and the vicinity of Syracuse, respectively, the former a son 
of Manning Barnes. Annis Stanton belonged to the noted family which 
furnished the secretary of war in President Lincoln's cabinet. James 
L. Chapman built the first tannery at Altmar, which he operated for 
a time. For some time he was engaged in the hide and leatlier trade in 
Chicago, where he was a director of the First National Bank, founded 
by his uncle, Edward R. Aiken. He now resides in soutiiern California. 
The Chapman family has been traced to English origin. The parents 
of James L. Chapman were Lincoln and Sarah (Reed) Chapman. The 
mother of the latter was a Cody, whose ancestry has been traced to 
Rhoda, eldest daughter of King Ethelbert, of England. While so- 
journing in France the name of the family was changed from Coda to 
Codie, and assumed the present form (Cody) in this country. The 
celebrated "Buffalo Bill" is a descendant of this family. 

JOHN SHOEMAIvER. A man whose character both as a private 
citizen and a public official commands the respect of all, is John Shoe- 



326 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

maker, of Natural Bridge. Kis ancestors were residents of the Key- 
stone state, where his grandfather, William J. Shoemaker, was born 
in 1780. 

John Shoemaker, son of William J. Shoemaker, was born in 18 13, 
in Pennsylvania, where he received his education. Later he came to 
Jefferson county, and settled at Sterlingville. In politics he was a 
W'hig. He married Sarah Cooper, who- was born in 1815, and of the 
thirteen children born to them four are now living: Josephine, who 
married P. Kinsman, of Sterlingbush ; John, mentioned at length here- 
inafter; Charles; and Emily, who resides in Lowville, New York. Mr. 
Shoemaker, the father of the family, died at the age of seventy-eight, 
and is remembered by all who knew him as a good and upright citizen. 
His widow, who has passed her eighty-ninth birthday, resides with her 
children. She is a member of the Presbyterian church. 

John Shoemaker, son of John and Sarah (Cooper) Shoemaker, 
was born October 19, 1843, '" the town of Wilna, where he was edu- 
cated in the common schools, after which he was for ? time employed 
on a farm. Early in the Civil war he enlisted as a priA-ate in Company 
D, First New York Light Artillery, and was present at the battles of 
Yorktown, Williamsburg, the Peninsula, Malvern Hill, the Seven 
Days' battle and the conflict before Richmond. September 4, 1865, he was 
honorably discharged, having participated in no fewer than twenty-seven 
engagements. On his return home he was for a time engaged in busi- 
ness as a contractor and later went to Missouri, where for seven years 
he worked on a farm. After returning to Jefferson county he again 
went into business as a contractor, and subsequently resumed his agri- 
cultural pursuits. At one time he drove the stage running between 
Natural Bridge and Carthage. He has now been for a number of 
years engaged in mercantile business. He holds the offices of com- 
missioner of highways and excise commissioner, and also that of post- 
master, having received his first appointment from President Harrison. 
At the end of the four years' administration of that chief magistrate, 
Mr. Shoemaker went out of office, but was re-appointed August 2, 1897, 
and has ?er\ed continuously ever since. His protracted tenure of the 
oflice furnishes tlie best possible evidence of the eminently satisfactory 
manner in which he has discharged his duties. He is a member of the 
Masonic fraternity, in which he has filled various ofifices. Politically 
he is a Republican. 

Mr. Shoemaker married, in 1866, Ellen, daughter of Thomas 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 327 

Burns (sketch elsewhere), and they are the parents of the foUowing 
children : Eva, who was formerly a teacher, but is now the wife of 
Frank Leuman, of .\lexandria Bay, and the mother of four children, 
John, Gould, Ruth, and Marion; George, who is a clerk for Conwall 
Bros., at Alexandria Bay; Frederick, who is a papermaker of Carthage; 
and Ray, a clerk with his brother-in-law for the past eleven years. 

ORSON LANDON EMMONS, of Natural Bridge, a respected 
business man and worthy citizen, is a grandson of Benj imin Emmons, 
w-ho was born in 1777, in Greenwich, Connecticut, and came to Syra- 
cuse as a pioneer. He was a farmer and merchant, and was one of the 
leading men in the town of Cicero. He married Samantha Bailey, who 
was born in Greenbush, Long Island, daughter of one of the early set- 
tlers. Mr. and Mrs. Emmons were the parents of five children, all of 
whom are now deceased. Mrs. Emmons, the mother, died at the age 
of fifty. Mr. Emmons, after he had reached his seventy-second year, 
married, and by his marriage was the father of twO' children. His 
death took place when he was eighty-five years old. 

Orson Emmons, son of Benjamin and Samantha (Bailey) Emmons, 
was born August 5, 181 1, in Syracuse, New York, and obtained his edu- 
cation in Cicero. He was engaged in mercantile business in Cordenoy 
and Brewerton, and was also at one time the proprietor of a hotel. 
Toward the close of his life he retired from business. He married 
Rachael Smedley, who was born in 18 14, in Litchfield, Connecticut, 
daughter of Chester Smedley, a, well-known physician, who' practiced 
in New York state, and died in Brewerton, in that state, at the age 
of eighty-nine. Air. and Mrs. Emmons had a family of four children, 
three of whom are living: Morton, who was born in 1836, in Brewer- 
ton; Orson Landon, mentioned at length hereinafter; Claretta A., un- 
married, who died in 1872. The mother of these children died at the 
comparatively early age of fifty-one, passing away April 11, 1865. 
Mr. Emmons survived to the advanced age of eighty-eight. Both he 
and his wife were active and esteemed members of the Disciples' church. 

Orson Landon Emmons, son of Orson and Rachael (Smedley) 
Emmons, was born June 10, 1845, in Caughdenoy, Oswego- county. 
New York, and received his primary education in the common schools 
of Brewerton, afterward attending the Syracuse high school, and also 
studying at Fulton Seminary. He then took a commercial course in 
Eastman's Business College, Poughkeepsie, and was ? member of its 



328 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

celebrated band and orchestra. He returned home on account of the 
illness of his mother, who was a college graduate, and from whom he 
had derived his taste for study. Mr. Emmons learned the shoemaker's 
trade, but had followed it ouly a short time when the Civil war began, 
and he enlisted, but for some reason was judged unfit for service. May 
2, 1872, he came to Natural Bridge, where he has since remained. For 
four years he worked at his trade, and then accepted a iwsition as fore- 
man in the finishing department of a tannery, where he remained twenty 
years, and at the end of that time returned to the shoe business. He 
built his present shop, and later the house which is now used as a 
postoffice. In 1888 he built the school house, and in 1893 finished his 
own dwelling. In politics he is a Republican. 

Mr. Emmons married, December 25, 1867, Susan H. Rice, who 
was born at Upper South Bay, at the head of Oneida lake, daughter of 
George and Sarah J. (Abner) Rice. The former was a farmer of 
Beverton. The following children were born to Mr. Rice and his 
wife: Emma F., not married; Susan H., who became the wife of 
Orson Landon Emmons, as mentioned above; Rose, who became the 
wife of William Ritchie, of Natural Bridge, New York; Julia, who 
became the wife of George Wilson, and resides in Natural Bridge: Kittie, 
who became the wife of John McGlochlin, of New Hartford, New York ; 
and Belle, who became the wife of Frank Wilson, of Cicero, New York. 
The death of Mr. Rice occurred when he was but forty-eight years old, 
and his wife passed away at the age of sixty. 

After a union of nearly thirty years, Mr. Emmons was afflicted 
by the loss of his estimable wife, whose death occurred November 23, 
1896. She was a member of the Disciples' church, and a woman greatly 
loved and respected. 

GEORGE A. LYND, proprietor of a general store at Natural 
Bridge, was born in Antwerp, Jefferson county. New York, January 
13, 1854. His grandfather, John Philemon Lynd, >vas one of the 
pioneer settlers of Antwerp, building the first log cabin in that locality. 
He marked out a road by sticking clay to the trees in order to indicate 
the path which he fullmved. In true pioneer style he began life there, 
and after a number nf years he erected the first frame house in that 
locality. His energies were (le\'ote(l untiringly to clearing and develop- 
ing his land, and in course of time he improved an excellent farm which 
returned to him a P'ood financial reward for his labor. He died at the 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 329 

age of seventy years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Lavina 
Cohon. passed away at an advanced age. They were the parents of 
seven children, Elhott. Mrs. Alonzo Bishop, PauHna, the wife of John 
Scott, of Sonth Edwards, New York; Mrs. Bower Hopkins, of Ne- 
braska; Mrs. John Carmon, of the same state; David, and Mrs. Hall. 
David Lynd, father of George A. Lynd, was born in Antwerp, 
New York, in 1820, and was reared on the old family homestead, there 
pnrsning his education in the public and select schools. He devoted his 
early life to farming, and afterward engaged in the hotel business at 
Churches Mills, for a number of years. In 1868 he removed to Wilna. 
and became the owner of a fine farm of one hundred acres which con- 
stituted the family homestead, and in addition to this he owned other 
valuable property. He continued to engage in agricultural pursuits 
until his life's labors were ended in death. He was very successful in 
his business affairs. In politics he was a prominent Democrat of his 
locality-. He married Cassedena Brown, a native of Richville, New 
York, and a daughter of \\'iiliam and Amanda (Rich) Brown. Her 
father was a leading and influential farmer in Richville, in which place 
his death occurred. The mother was a, daughter of Adam Rich, who 
took up a tract of ten thousand acres of land in that locality, and the 
town of Richville was named in his honor. In his family were a num- 
ber of children, including Mrs. Amanda Rich Brown, who died at the 
age of seventy-six years. The others were Frank Rich, who was con- 
nected with the treasury department at Washington, D. C, for a num- 
ber of years; Adelina, the wife of Ed Fisk, of Minnesota; Andre^v Jack- 
son; and Arley, formerly of Oliio, but now deceased. Mrs. Cassedena 
Lynd died at the age of seventy-four years, in the fnith of the Uni- 
versalist church, of which she was a member. By her marriage she had 
seven children: George A.: Lillian, who married Irwin Tillottson, and 
resides on the old homestead: Adeline, wife of George Sherman, of 
Paulding, Ohio; John W., a merchant of Defiance, Ohio; Edward R., 
proprietor of a restaurant in Ada, Ohio ; Morris E., who is associated 
with his brother in Defiance, Ohio ; and Hattie, wife of George Brown, 
of the firm of Brown Brothers. 

George A. Lynd spent his early daj's in the parental home, and 
when but six years old entered the public schools, continuing his studies 
in the high school and in the academy at Natural Bridge. On putting 
aside liis text books, he returned to his father's farm, where he re- 
mained until he attained his majority, when he went to the west to do 



330 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

a jobbing- business. He also occupied a position as salesman in a 
store in Defiance, Ohio, tor one year. He afterward followed various 
business enterprises until 1894. when he came to Natural Bridge with 
his brother, J. W. Lynd. They established a general mercantile enter- 
prise, and there remained until the store was destroyed by fire. » 

111 1900 Mr. Lynd rented a store where he conducted business up 
to 1904. when he purchased the American House property, which he 
completely rebuilt and fitted up as a first-class general store, where he 
carries a well selected line of dry goods, groceries, notions, clothing, 
hats, caps, and other articles in demand by the general public. 

^[r. Lvnd gives his political allegiance to the Republican party, 
and is a charter member of the Odd Fellows Lodge at Natural Bridge. 
He attends the Lfniversalist church. In 1883 he married Ida Cowen, 
who was born in Wihia, New York, in 1854, a daughter of William 
Cowen. who was a farmer. He died in Jefiferson county in 1902 at 
the age of seventy-six years. His wife, Angeline Frazer, was brought 
to Natural Bridge in her girlhood days, her father having been a 
pioneer of the locality. She died at the age of sixty-nine years. In 
the Cowen family were the following named children: Fred, who is 
now living in Greenfield, Massachusetts ; Mrs. Lynd ; William, who re- 
sides on the old homestead : and Edward, who is acting as salesman for 
Mr. Lynd. To Mr. and Mrs. Lynd has been born a daughter, Manie A., 
now at home. 

HIRAM FAIRBANKS NORTON, deceased, whose business 
career was one of marked enterprise, whereiir his reliable methods con- 
tributed in a large measure to his prosperity, was born July 14, 1854, in 
Lyme, New York, a son of Henry and Mary (Harris) Norton, and 
grandson of John H. and Harriet (Richardson) Norton. 

John H. Norton (grandfather) was born in February, 1790, in 
the state of Massachusetts. He attended the common schools of Hamp- 
den county, JNIassachusetts, wherein he obtained an education which thor- 
oughly qualified him for the vocation of school teacher, which he fol- 
lowed for a number of years, achieving a large degree cf success. He 
participated in the war of 1812, and received a number of medals in 
token of the appreciation in which his faithful and heroic services were 
held by his superiors. He married Harriet Richardson, who was born 
in Springfield, daughter of John Richardson, who was a millwright by 
trade, and their children were: Frank, Henry. Joseph, and Harriet. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 331 

Henry Norton (father) was born in Oswego county, New York, 
May lo, 1820. After completing a common school education he served 
an apprenticeship at the trade of miller, which he followed in the town 
of Lyme, where he spent the greater part of his life. He was an hon- 
Qj-able and upright man, conscientious in the performance of all his' 
duties, and the respect entertained for him by his fellow citizens was 
well merited. In 1845 he was united in marriage to Mary Harris, who 
was born in Oswego county, daughter of Joseph Harris, a boat builder 
of North Fair Haven, New York, who received many medals for sav- 
ing life. Ten children were born to Henry and Mary (Harris) Norton, 
among whom were Emily, who became the wife of Frank Mertz, a 
miller of Rochester, New York; Joseph, who died July 4, 1865; Hiram 
F., mentioned hereinafter; and Mary H., born July 6, 1856, and became 
the wife of George Hardy, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this 
work. Henry Norton, father of these children, died in 1887. He sur- 
vived his wife many years, her death having occurred in 1876. 

Hiram F. Norton acquired a liberal education in the common 
schools of his native town, Lyme, New York, and at the Watertown high 
schools. He learned the trade of weaver, was very successful in the 
pursuit of the same, and being a man of excellent education and great 
talent v/ould have made a name for himself in the business world had it 
not been for impaired health. He was highly respected in the com- 
munity, and beloved by all with whom he came in contact either in 
business or social life. 

In 1874 Mr. Norton married Harriet Rathburn, who was born 
in 1844, daughter of Charles A. Rathburn, who' was born in Amherst, 
Massachusetts, one of a large family, the male members of which were 
fishermen and whalers. All their ancestors figured in the wars of 
1776, 1812, and the Civil war; in the latter named six of the manbers 
of the Rathburn family performed gallant service in defense of their 
country's honor. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Norton, 
namely: i. Fairbanks, who married Kate Russell; 2. Harriet, who 
became the wife of Joseph Rebscher, and they were the parents of two 
children, Carl and Carrie (twins), Mrs. Rebscher died July 18, 1894; 
3. Hiram, who died in infancy; 4. Frank Rathburn, who married 
Gertrude Miller, of Washington, D. C, and they have two children, 
Mamie and George F. Mr. Norton, father of these children, died at 
the residence of his son in Washington, D. C, July 8, 1901. His widow 
now resides in Thousand Island Park, New York. She still retains 



332 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

her home in Lvme. Xew Yurk. and is one of the most substantial mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church at Three IMile Bay. Xew York. 

ADDISON B. PARKER, publisher of the Lodge Record and also 
a job printer of Watertown, New York, was born in Fulton, Oswego 
county, New York, August 26, 1866. His father, the Rev. David Den- 
nison Parker, was born in Paris. Oneida county, New York, in 1819, 
and died in Eelts Mills, this county. January 7. 1898, at the age of 
seventy-eight years, ten months and twenty-seven days. In his boyhood 
days he accompanied his parents on their removal to Mexico, New York. 
He was converted February 13, 1843, under the preaching of the Rev. 
B. Holms, and was licensed to exhort in 1845 by the Rev. N. Peck and 
to preach in 184S by Rev. Gardner Baker. Rev. Parker joined the 
Black River conference at the session held in Adams, New Y'ork, in 
1848 and was appointed to North Manlius with the Rev. Alvin Robbins 
as pastor. In 1850 he was received into full connection and was or- 
dained deacon by Bishop Waugh and appointed to Phoenix. His sub- 
sequent appointments were: 1852, Parish; 1853-4. Central Square; 
1855, Liverpool: 1856-57, Bangor; 1858, Fort Covington; 1859, Nor- 
folk; 1860-61, Natural Bridge and Wilna; 1862, Russell; 1863-64, Lis- 
bon: 1865-66, Buck's Bridge: 1867-69, Gilbert's Mills; 1870-72, North 
Western; 1873, supernumerarj-, at Lowell; 1874-76, Pamelia; 1877-79, 
Watson; 1880, superannuated and settled at Felts Mills; 1886-87, he 
supplied Woods Mills, living at his house. Thus he spent thirty-three 
years in the active work of the ministry including the two years in 
which he supplied a charge while occupying superannuated relation. He 
was a most earnest, thoughtful speaker, an excellent pastor and also 
verv successful in revival work. During the period of his superannuated 
relation he was ever loyal to his local church, his pastor and his friends. 
For eighteen years he was a great sufferer from acute neuralgia, and 
on the 7th of January, 1898, he departed this life, having for two years 
sun-ived his wife. He is survived by two sons, M. M. Parker, of Felts 
Mills, and A. B. Parker, of Watertown. There is also a living daughter, 
Mrs. Gertrude Mooney. of Felts' Mills, while one daughter, Addie Ben- 
nett, passed away in Fulton, New Y^ork, August 26, 1869. 

Addison B. Parker spent his boyhood days in Felts Mills, pursuing 
his education in the public schools there. He entered upon his business 
career as a clerk in a store and afterward came to Watertown. When 
tliirteen years of age he was sent to a select school and after putting 




ADDISON B. PARKER 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 333 

aside his text books he was employed I>y Otis Ingalls on the Watertozvn 
Post. He began learning- the trade of a ]irinter in that office, remaining 
there for two years, after which he spent two years in newspaper work 
in Rochester, New York, and in Brooklyn. On the expiration of that 
period he returned to Watertown to accept a position as foreman of 
the Post and served in that important capacity until he had thoroughly 
mastered practically all the work of a printing establishment. He then 
accepted a position in the Government Printing Office at Washington, 
D. C, where he remained for two years, when once more he turned his 
steps toward Watertown and established his present business. He now 
conducts a job printing office and is also the publisher and editor of the 
Lodge Record, which has developed into a splendid journal, having 
seven thousand subscribers whose names are on the rolls of the Odd 
Fellows' fraternity. This is the only paper of the kind published in the 
state and is devoted exclusively to the affairs of the Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows and as the official organ of the Grand Lodge. 

Air. Parker has traveled extensively, has thus gained an intimate 
knowledge of many parts of the country and is well informed on all 
the topics of the day. His political support is given to the Republican 
party. He was appointed supervisor to fill a vacancy, from the first 
ward of Watertown, and was elected September 28, 1899, again in 
1901 and in 1903, by the largest majority e\'er given any candidate for 
that office. He was nominated by the Republicans and endorsed by 
the Democrats in both 1901 and 1903 and is the youngest member of 
the board. After three years' service he was elected chairman of the 
board of supervisors of the county, being the youngest man who has 
ever held that responsible position up that time, by twenty years. He 
has declined the nomination as candidate for assemblyman of his district 
several times. On January i, 1904, he was appointed by the New 
York state senate and served as assistant journal clerk of that body. 
His influence is strongly felt not only in local political circles, but 
throughout New York. Mr. Parker is one of the leading representatives 
of the Odd Fellows society in the Empire state. He belongs to Water- 
town City Lodge No. 291, Montezuma Encampment No. 27, and Can- 
ton Ridgely No. 14, and is at present grand senior warden of the Grand 
Encampment of New York state and in 1906 will be grand patriarch, the 
head office of that body in the state of New York. He is also identified 
with the Masonic fraternity, belonging to the lodge, chapter and council, 
and is a member of the Royal Arcanum, the Improved Order of Red 



33i GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Men and the Knights of Pythias. He attends the Presbyterian church, 
while his wife is a member of the Stone Street Presbyterian church. 

Mr. Parker was married October 28, 1891, to Grace Carpenter, who 
was bom in Watertown, a daughter of George R. Carpenter, of Water- 
town, in whose family were two children. Frederick and Mrs. Parker. 
To the latter has been born one son. Fred Maurice. 

GUST.W G. W'ETTERHAHN. Among the representative ag- 
riculturists of the town of Clayton, Jefferson county, New York, who 
have accumulated a sufificient competence through their own well directed 
efforts to enable them to retire from active business pursuits, is Gustav 
G. Wetterhahn. a native of Clayton, born September 20. 1858. 

Gustav Wetterhahn, father of Gustav G. W^etterhahn, was born 
in Germany, reared and educated there, and at the age of nineteen emi- 
grated to America, settling on a farm in the town of Orleans, New 
York. Later he moved to Watertown, where he was engaged in the 
grocery business, and subsequently he took up his residence in the town 
of Clayton, where he purchased a farm and began the manufacture of 
limburger cheese, conducting an extensive and profitable business. He 
also purchased a large amount of real estate, which he owned at the 
time of his death. He was the owner of over six hundred and fifty 
acres, being one of the largest farmers in the town of Clayton. He 
was active and prominent in political affairs, and among the ofifices ih 
which he served was that of highway commissioner. He was a mem- 
ber of the Masonic fraternity, affiliating with a lodge in Depauville, 
New York. He married Elizabeth Leininger, daughter of John and 
Mary Leininger, of Cape Vincent, New York, who were the parents 
of five children, two of whom are living at the present time, namely: 
Kathrine, wife of Charles Knapp, of Three Mile Bay, town of Lyme; 
and Mary, wife of Christian Schoeb, of Watertown, New York. John 
Leininger, father of Mrs. Wetterhahn, was a pioneer settler of Cape 
Vincent, having come from his native land when his daughter Eliza- 
beth was a baby ; he died at the age of eighty years. Nine children were 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Wetterhahn. four of whom died under the age 
of eighteen, and the surviving meml>ers of the family are : Elizabeth, 
a resident of Depauville; Gustav G., mentioned hereinafter; Mary A., 
wife of Merrit S. Walrath. of Depauville: William, a fanner of Depau- 
ville : Kathrine, wife of Ellsworth Swartout, of Depauville. Mr. Wetter- 
hahn and his wife were members of the Lutheran church. He died 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 335 

January 26, 1901, in the seventy-fourth year of his age, and she died 
August 5, 1896, in the sixty-third year of her age. 

Gustav G. Wetterhahn was born September 20, 185?, and obtained 
his education in the common and select schools of the neighborhood in 
which he was born. He assisted his father with the labors of the 
farm up to the time of his retirement, after which he conducted the 
farm of three hundred and seventy-five acres, taking care of his father 
during the latter years of his life. He followed this method of work- 
ing up to the year 1901, and since that time he has retired from farm- 
ing. His operations are conducted on an extensive scale, his being 
one of the largest farms in tlie town, and he is also a large breeder of 
stock. Although deeply interested in business matters, he still finds 
time to devote to the duties of citizenship, taking an active part and 
interest in political and social affairs. He has held several town offices, 
and has also been delegate at different times to various conventions. In 
1904 he was nominated on the Democratic ticket for the office of super- 
visor, but, the district being strongly Republican he was defeated, al- 
though receiving within thirty votes of enough to elect him, running 
far ahead of his ticket. He is a member of the Free and Accepted 
Masons, Lodge No. 688. of Depauville, in which he has held many 
prominent offices; is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, Lodge No. 648; of the Independent Order of Foresters, Court 
Depau, No. 1673, of Depauville; and Depauville Grange, No. 59, in 
which he has held a number of offices, including that of master for two 
years. 

In 1884 Mr. Wetterhahn married Minnie M. Lingenfelter, daugh- 
ter oi William H. and Mary E. (Wilson) Lingenfelter, a complete 
sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. One child was the 
issue of this union, born December 25, 1888, a gifted and accomplished 
musician, also a student of the Clayton high school. Mr. and Mrs. 
Wetterhahn attend and support the Methodist Episcopal church of De- 
pauville, New York. They reside on the old homestead farm which 
he purchased after the death of his father, about three miles from 
Depauville. 

DAVID POOL, late of Natural Bridge, Jefferson county. New 
York, who enjoyed an honorable and enviable reputation among the 
noted agriculturists of his section of the state, and the high esteem of 
a large circle of friends and acquaintances, was born in Great Bend, 



330 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Xew York, ilarch 7, 1821, and during his lifetime witnessed many 
changes in tlie development and advancement of the town of Natural 
Bridge and vicinity. The name of the family of which he was a repre- 
sentative was originally written Vanderpool, indicating that the race 
had its home in the land which claims William the Silent as the founder 
of its independence. In the course of time the last syllable came to 
stand for the full name, and thus the distinctive character of the patro- 
nymic was lost. 

Abraham Vanderpool, grandfather of David Pool, was baptized 
July 19, 1748. In 1773 he married Marcia Decker. There is no 
authentic information concerning them, but it seems probable that 
their life-long home was at Johnstown, Fulton county, New York, 
where both are interred. 

John Pool, father of David Pool, was born October 14, 1783, in 
Kinderhook, Fulton county, New York. He obtained his education in 
the common schools of his native town, and after laying aside his 
school books he worked by the month on a farm. Subsequently he was 
the proprietor of a hotel in Johnstown, New York. About 181 7 he 
came to Great Bend, Jefferson county, in the town of Champion, mak- 
ing his home there until 1822, where he bought one hundred acres, on 
which he built a log house. Later he removed to Natural Bridge, 
in the town of Wilna, and settled on the farm which has ever since 
remained in the possession of his descendants. He cleared the land 
and erected the house, which is still the residence of the family. His 
political affiliations were with the Democratic party. 

John Pool married Esther Van Antwerp, daughter of John Van 
Antwerp, and the following named children were the issue of this 
marriage: John, born November 12, 1803; Maria, born February 
17, 1805; Eleanor, born February 21, 1807: Rachel, born December 25, 
1809; Abraham, born July 25, 1819: David, born March 7, 1821, men- 
tioned hereinafter; and Catherine, born August 4, 1823. The mother'of 
these children, who was a truly estimable woman, and a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, died March i, 1836. Her husband sur- 
vived her many years, passing away December 23, 1861, at the age 
of seventy-eight. As a man and citizen he was sincerely respected by 
all. John Van Antwerp, father of Mrs. Pool, was a farmer of Johns- 
town, and a veteran of the Revolution. He suffered much in the cause 
of independence, having been taken as a prisoner to Canada, from 
whence he made his escape by swimming the St. Lawrence river, but 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 337 

was afterward obliged to wander so long in the wilderness that death 
by starvation stared him in the face. Mr. Van Antwerp and his wif? 
were the parents of eleven children : John, Thomas, Francis, Abraham, 
Daniel, Esther, born October i8, 1784, in Johnstown, who became the 
wife of John Pool, as mentioned above; Rachel, Catharine, Nellie, Jane, 
and Mrs. J. Getman. 

David Pool, son of John and Esther (Van Antwerp) Pool, received 
his education in the common schools of Natural Bridge, having come 
here with his parents as a child. His youth and early manhood were 
spent in assisting his father in the care and management of the farm, 
and in acquiring that thorough and practical knowledge of agriculture, 
which in after years caused him to be recognized as a leader among the 
farmers of the county. He still continued to act as his father's assistant 
even after the latter had presented him with fifty acres of land and a 
house, thus enabling him to establish a home of his own. After the 
death of his father, Mr. Pool became the owner of the homestead by 
purchasing of the other heirs their shares in the estate. He then pur- 
chased more property, making in all two hundred and fifty acres, which 
constitutes one of the finest farms in this region. It is now managed 
by Mr. Pool's sons, and is devoted to farming and dairying, being 
equipped with about twenty-five cows and a quantity of young stock. 
Mr. Pool was a member of the Grange, and for forty years held mem- 
bership in the Masonic order, affiliating with a lodge in Carthage, New 
York. His political principles were those advocated and upheld by the 
Democratic party. He was a member of the Universalist church, in 
which for many years he held the office of trustee. 

Mr. Pool married, in 1843, Almira Nichols, who was born in Den- 
mark, daughter of Piatt Nichols, a native of Dunston, who removed to 
Denmark, where he followed the trade of carpenter. Mr. Nichols and 
his wife were the parents of seven children : Caroline, Almira, Jona- 
than, a resident of Pamelia; Ellen, Livona, Milton, and Amelia Nichols. 
The following named children were born tO' Mr. and Mrs. Pool : i, 
Esther, who became the wife of Frank Dimock, a farmer of Diana ; 2, 
Jay, who resides on the ancestral homestead, and was married to Julia 
Palmer, who bore him two children — Myra and Esther: 3, Alice, who 
became the wife of Andrew J. Spencer; 4, Abbie, who became the wife 
of Alvin Hart, and they are the parents of one child — Ray Hart. 

The union of Mr. and Mrs. Pool, which endured for more than 
half a century, was terminated by the death of the beloved wife and 



338 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

mother, who passed awa}- April 13, 1901, leaving a void in the hearts 
of her husband and children, and also in those of many warm and 
devoted friends. Mr. Pool died April 22, 1904, at the ripe old age of 
eighty-three years, being the last of his generation. His long life was 
spent at the Bridge, coming there with his parents from the Mohawk 
valley when one year old, the family making their way from Carthage 
to the Bridge over a trail several years before a regular highway was 
laid out from this point to the Bridge. The funeral occurred April 25, 
1904, at the Universalist church of Natural Bridge, New York, the 
Rev. Mr. Fisher officiating. The. services were conducted under the 
auspices of the Carthage Masonic Lodge, of which the deceased had 
been a member for the past forty years, and many members of the home 
lodge attended the ceremony. The remains were interred in the Sand 
Hill Cemeterv. He was survived by his son and three daughters, afore- 
mentioned. 

SIMOX G. JOHNSTON. As an authority on all matters per- 
taining to navigation and boat-building, Simon G. Johnston, of Clay- 
ton, has no rival on the St. Lawrence river. 

He is a son of George Johnston, who was born in 1790 in North- 
umberland, England, where he received his education and grew to man- 
hood. On coming to America he settFed in Prescott, Canada, and later 
moved to Ogdensburg, New York. He was a sawyer and millwright, 
and built at Camp's dock, Sacketts Harbor, the first sawmill ever erected 
in that town. After operating this for some time he went west, bought 
land in Wisconsin, and there passed the remainder of his life. He mar- 
ried Elizabeth, born in Canterbury, England, daughter of Simon Gray, 
who served for forty-seven years in the Scotch army, was promoted, 
and at one time had charge of one hundred and twenty-five prisoners. 
His death took place at the very advanced age of ninety-three. Mr. 
and Mrs. Johnston were the parents of six children, three of them 
being: Simon G., the special subject of this article; William, 
who lixecl in Minneapolis, Minnesota, died in 1899: and Mrs. Mary 
Coleman, who resides in Red Wing, Minnesota. Mrs. Johnston, the 
mother of these children, died at Sacketts Harbor at the age of forty- 
five. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and was 
much loved and esteemed. The death of Mr. Johnston occurred when 
he had reached the age of seventy, and was the result of an accident. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. :^39 

His character was such as to command respect, both as a man and a 
citizen. 

Simon G. Johnston, son of George and Ehzabeth (Gray) Jolmston, 
was born Octolier 9, i8ji, in Perth, West Canada. He was ten years 
of age when the family removed to Sacketts Harbor. It was there that 
he received his education, and learned the trade of a ship-carpenter in 
all its branches. Later he came to Clayton, and was for a number of 
years in business with his brother-in-law. He served for two years as 
superintendent for the firm of Fowler & Essylstyn, and at the end of 
that time became by purchase the owner of their large plant, and con- 
ducted the business with great success until 1872. Ship-building began 
at Clayton in 1830 and continued for half a century as the chief industn,' 
of the village. It was established here by Smith & Merrick, and at 
times gave employment to more than one hundred men, from three to 
six vessels being built h.ere each year. The first boats were the "Jesse 
Smith" and "Horatio Gates," both being built in 1830, the work being 
begun by Captain Pickering, and completed by George S. Weeks. He 
continued building for the firm, and built the steamer "Black Hawk," 
and the schooners "Franklin," "Jefferson," "Morgiana Willetts," "Mon- 
roe," "Gazelle," "Madison," "Lucinda," "Cleopatra," "Western," 
"Chesapeake," "Robert \'\'ood," "E. G. Merrick," "Sylph," and others, 
besides the steamer "Swan." Another early and prominent builder 
was John Oades, who was the brother-in-law of Simon G. Johnston, 
and who began operations here in 1841 under contracts of the old firms 
of E. G. Merrick & Company, and Fowler & Essylstyn. His work- 
manship resulted in the construction of one hundred boats, including 
both sailing vessels and steamers. He built the schooners "St. Law- 
rence," "John Oades," "D. N. Burney," "Superior," "Invincible," "New 
York," "Quebec," "America," "Flying Cloud," "Sovereign of the 
Lakes," "Northern Light," "White Cloud," "Northerner," "Sky Lark," 
"Republic," "Clayton," "Amelia," "Adriatic," "Northern Belle," "Dash- 
ing Wave," "Monticello," "Adirondack," "Radiant," "Clayton Belle," 
"M. F. Merrick," "Montana," "Portland," "Kearsarge," and others; 
and the steamers "Niagara," "Cataract," "Ontario," "Bay State," "New 
York," "Jenny Lind," "British Empire," "British Queen," "Midge" 
and "Widgeon." Mr. Johnston became the successor of Mr. Oades and 
began ship-building for the firm of Fowler & Esselystyn in 1854. He 
built in all about forty boats for the navigation of the St. Lawrence 
river, and from the time he began independent operations here he has 



340 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

been the acknowledged authority on all subjects pertaining to the river 
and its navigation. He built the schooners "Grayhound." "Eagle 
Wnig." "Watchful," "Mediator," "Senator," "Snow Bird." "Brook- 
lyn," "Alontpelier," "Montcalm," "^Montgomery," "Montmorency," 
"]\lont Blanc," "Irene," "L. B. Stone," "Scud," "William Home," "Hat- 
tie Johnson," "Henry Folger," and "Black Diamond." He also built 
the steamers "T. S. Faxton," "H. S. Johnson," "Island Belle," a second 
"Island Belle," and the "Nightingale," and the palace steamer "St. 
Lawrence." The aggregate tonnage of these vessels and steamers is 
about forty thousand tons and cost about two million dollars. The 
last boat built by Mr. Johnston was the "Nightingale," built in 1894. 
He was bv far the best known of the later boat-builders, and put on the 
river some of the stanchest smaller boats navigating its waters. 

yir. Johnston i? a public-spirited citizen, having proved his claim 
to the title by the efforts which he has made to promote the well-being 
and advancement of the community. The introduction of the water- 
works into the town was largely owing to his labors and influence, and he 
was one of tho.se most actively engaged in the building of the railroad 
to Theresa, in which he was a large stockholder. He takes a prom- 
inent part in the political aftairs of the town, and is extremely popular, 
having held the office of assessor for many years, finally declining a 
re-election. He has also served as school trustee a number of years. 
In politics he is a James G. Blaine Republican. He and his family are 
members of the First Congregational church, in which for a number 
of years he has served as deacon. He aided in organizing and building 
the church. 

Mr. Johnston married, in 1854, Emily H., a sister of John Oades, 
of Sacketts Harbor. Mr. Oades was an early and prominent ship- 
builder of the county, as mentioned above. He was the father of two 
daughters and one son, who was also a ship-builder. The daughters 
were: Emily H.. mentioned above as the wife of Simon G. Johnston; 
and Elizabeth McKee, of Dubuciue, Iowa. Mr. Oades died at Sacketts 
Harbor, where he had passed his life. 

Mr. and Mrs. Johnston have had six children, of whom three are 
living; 1. Irene, who is the wife of J. M. Hungerford, a merchant of 
Clayton, New York, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work ; 
they have one son, Stanley I. 2. Henry, who is the captain of the 
"Nightingale." 3. Belle I. The two last named reside at home. Lucy, 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 341 

the eldest daughter, died at the age of thirty years. She was a graduate 
of the Adams Collegiate Iristitute. Minnie and Jennie died in infancy. 

JOHX O'LEARY. The legal fraternity of Jefferson county. New 
York, iias many representatives, yet none are more devoted to their 
profession or more earnest in their discharge of professional duties than 
John O'Leary, of Clayton, who was horn at Waddington, St. Lawrence 
county, December 17, i860. 

The parental ancestry of John O'Leary for many generations were 
residents of the county Wexford, Ireland, and three of the older brothers 
of his grandfather, Patrick O'Leary. participated in the battles of the 
uprising of 1798. The male members of the family in th(jse early days 
followed the occupation of blacksmiths, and in addition thereto carried 
on a small farm. The farm is still worked, and the neighborhood black- 
smithing is still done by James O'Leaiy, who lives in the same cottage 
in which the father and grandfather of John O'Leary were born. 

Patrick O'Leary, with his wife and a family of several children, 
emigrated to America in the spring of 1847, leaving the oldest son 
Anthony on the old homestead. Shortly after their arrival their son 
John died. Later, when the war of the rebellion broke out, David, 
Moses and Edward went to the front. David was with Sheridan on 
his famous raid, and was afterwards killed in an engagement in Vir- 
ginia. Moses, who was a private in the Fourteenth New York Heavy 
Artillery, lost an arm at the mine explosion before Petersburg and died 
June, 1903, in California. Edward, who was a private in the One 
Hundred and Forty-second New York Volunteers, now resides with his 
family at Port Henry, New York. There was one daughter, who mar- 
ried James McGinnis and resided in \^^addington, St. Lawrence county. 
New York, until her death in 1903. 

James O'Leary ni 1857 married Johanna O'Neill, who, with her 
parents and several brothers and sisters, emigrated from the county 
Tipperary, Ireland, and settled at Waddington, New York. The 
O'Neills were descendants of the famous chieftain, "Red Hugh O'Neill," 
of the north. Mr. and Mrs. James O'Leary, after their marriage, con- 
tinued to reside in the town of Waddington. Three children were born 
to them — John, Patrick and David — all of whom w-ere educated in the 
district schools of their native town. At an early age David secured a 
position in Bellows Falls, Vermont, in the stockyards of the C. V. R. R., 
and later became foreman for the New England Dressed Meat and Wool 



342 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Co. of Boston, Massachusetts, in the Brighton yards, which position he 
held until the time of his death in 1891. Patrick O'Leary has always 
been a farmer in Waddington and Pierrepont, except a few years when 
he was in tlie employ of the New England Dressed Meat and Wool Co. 
of Boston, Massachusetts. He now resides at Potsdam, New York. 

John O'Leary spent his early years at Waddington, New York. 
He attended the district school and village school, and taught success- 
fully in the district schools of Waddington and surrounding towns. He 
graduated from the village school in 1884, and in September the same 
year entered St. Lawrence University, from which he was graduated 
in 1888. During his college course he taught a short term of school 
each winter vacation, and filled a vacancy that occurred in the Ogdens- 
burg school the winter before graduation. After graduation he secured 
the principalship of the Alexandria Bay graded school, which position 
he held until June, 1893. Much of the success this school has achieved 
is due to the foundation laid by JMr. O'Leary during the five years of 
his principalship. 

In June, 1893, after the election of President Cleveland, he was 
appointed deputy collector of customs at the port of Alexandria Bay,New 
York, which position he held until October 15, 1898, during which term, 
in addition to performing the duties of collector, he studied law, and in 
June, 1898, was admitted to practice law in the supreme court. On 
November i, 1898, he moved to Clayton and opened an office for the 
practice of law, which he has conducted ever since. During his career 
as an attorney at law he has achieved a large degree of success, his serv- 
ices being called into requisition by the residents of Clayton and sur- 
rounding towns. By his zealous efforts in behalf of his clients' interests 
and by his honesty and integrity he has won the respect and esteem of 
all with whom he has come 'in contact. 

Mr. O'Leary lias always taken an active interest in the political 
affairs of St. Lawrence and Jefferson counties. He has been a lifelong 
Democrat, and has been honored by his party on various occasions. He 
has always taken a keen interest in educational matters, and is a mem- 
ber of the board of education of the Clayton High School, and is a promi- 
nent factor in advancing all enterprises that tend toward the growth and 
development of the town. 

INIr. O'Leary's father died on the family homestead in January, 
1890. and liis mother died at Clayton, New York, in ]\Iay, 1902, where 
she had come on a visit, and was unal.ile to return to her home. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 3i5 

In 1 888 John O'Leary married Mary A. Hallen of Canton, New 
York, the daughter of John and Mary Hallen' of Waddington, New 
York. P'our children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. O'Leary : Mar- 
garet J., ]\Iary Ellen, James H., and Gwendolen K. O'Leary. 

GEORGE H. McKINLEY. It is the distinction of George H. 
McKinley, of Clayton, Jefferson county, New York, to have carved 
out for himself a highly successful career in his native city, a con- 
summation which comes to but few out of many. He has not only 
built up a large and profitable mercantile business, but he has so com- 
manded the confidence and esteem of the community that almost from 
the time of his entering upon the active duties of life he has been called 
to the occupancy of public positions of trust and honor. 

He was born in Clayton, January 26, 1852, son of John and 
Eleanor (Murphy) McKinley. His father, a native of Ireland, came 
to America in his early youth, and was among the pioneer settlers in 
this vicinit}', where he reared his family of seven sons and one daughter. 
Of these George H. McKinley was the fifth. He was brought up to 
a life of industry, and his earty struggles and privations proved a 
splendid preparation in the de\-elopment of his character and the for- 
mation of his habits. From his very boyhood he aided in cultivating 
the home farm, and in the winter seasons attended the common school, 
where he was an assiduous student who took the utmost advantage of 
the meagre opportunities afforded him. At the age of seventeen he 
found employment in the drug store of Dr. Amos Ellis, with whom he 
remained two years, attending the village school during its terms, and 
devoting his mornings and evenings to his duties about the store, and 
acquired a fair English education, and a fund of general knowledge 
through his personal reading and keen observation. After leaving Dr. 
Ellis, at the age of nineteen, he became a clerk in A. F. Barker's 
general store, the largest mercantile establishment in the \illage at 
that time, and remained with ]\lr. Barker and the succeeding firm of 
H. S. and S. M. Barker for five years. While he was thus employed 
he developed a genuine talent for the business, and also laid away a 
modest sum out of his earning*. In April, 1877, he formed a partner- 
ship w^ith Captain M. Flalpin, under the firm name of G. H. McKinley 
& Company, and opened a general store. Success attended the partners 
from the first, and their association was pleasantly maintained until 
1882, when occurred the death of Captain Halpin, whose interest was 



346 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

purchased by Mr. McKinley. Still extending his operations, Mr. 
iMcKinley was enabled in 1899, only twelve years after he had first 
embarked in business, to erect on James street, directly opposite the 
Hubbard House, a handsome and commodious block of store rooms 
and offices — a three-story edifice, with a frontage and cTepth of eighty 
feet. This he conducted successfully up to November, 1904, when he 
disposed of his business, having at that time the largest general store 
in Jefi'erson county, outside of Watertown. In addition to this business 
he had for a number of years, as opportunity offered, bought and sold 
real estate, and smce selling out bas given his entire attention to this 
business. 

In the achievement of the results which have crowned his effort, 
Mr. McKinley, it need scarcely be said, has been an unusually indus- 
trious man. At the same time he has ever been a broad-minded public- 
spirited citizen who has constantly exerted his effort for the advance- 
miCnt of the interests of the community. He aided in the organization 
of the National Exchange Bank, and has been one of its directors from 
that time to the present. An earnest advocate of education, he has 
been a most faithful and sagacious member of the school board for 
upwards of twenty years, and for five years past he has been president 
of that body, and it is to be said in all truthfulness that no one of his 
day has afforded such valuable service in the maintenance and improve- 
ment of the schools of the village. He was for many years a member 
of the board of village trustees, and in 1893 he was by a unanimous 
vote of the people elected village president, a position in which he 
served most creditably and usefully. An uncompromising Democrat, 
Mr. McKinley is recognized as one of the foremost leaders of his party 
in Jefferson county, and yet maintaining the respect and personal friend- 
ship of his political opponents because of his deep sincerity and his 
courteous respect for their sentiments. In his personal activity, which 
is at times almost aggressive in its vigor, he is not, however, actuated 
by a desire for personal preferment, but by a conscientious conviction 
that he is discharging the first and most important duty of a citizen in 
aiding in the conduct of public affairs. His capability in leadership 
is evidenced by the fact that he has served upon the Democratic county 
committee for about twenty years. He had charge of the gubernatorial 
campaign of Roswell P. Flower, in District No. 3, of Clayton, which, 
under his leadership, gave Mr. Flower the largest percentage of votes 
of any district in the state outside the metropolis \tst\i. In 1895 Mr. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 3i7 

RIcKinley was appointed postmaster by President Cleveland, and 
during his official term he transacted the business of the office with rare 
discretion and ability, and with strict integrity. He is a member of 
numerous fraternal and benevolent orders. 

Mr. McKinley was married in 1876 to Miss Margaret E. Halpin, 
daughter of his former business associate, Captain M. Halpin. The 
children born of this marriage were : Francis M., born July 18, 1877, 
a graduate of Cornell Law School; John Henry, born May 5, 1879, 
who married Leon Leyare, and they have one son, George H. ; Lena 
Eleanor, born November 3, 1883 ; Edward Emanuel, born December 
25, 1887; George Victor, born August 24, 1892; Hilliard Arthur, born 
November 26, 1895; Florence ^larie, born April 2y, 1898. 

GEORGE E. JMORSE, who has attained an enviable reputation 
as a lawyer, and is recognized as a leader in political circles of Jeffer- 
son county, represents one of the old families of this part of the state. 

He is a descendant in the fifth generation of the founder of the 
family in New Hampshire, who moved to that state from Massachu- 
setts, and whose son, Joseph Morse, was the great-grandfather of George 
E. Morse. Joseph Morse was born June 8, 1770, and married Betsey 
Elizabeth Finley, whose birth occurred February 13, 1776. He followed 
the profession of school teaching, but also owned a farm about seven 
miles east of South Charleston, New Hampshire, on which he reared 
his family of six children who reached mature years — three sons and 
three daughters. Of this number was Hiram Morse, the grandfather 
of George E. Morse. Hiram Morse was born in New Hampshire, 
December 26, 1800, spent the days of his boyhood and youth in the 
Old Granite state and on obtaining his majority removed to New York. 
Fie early earned his living here by working as a farm hand by the 
month, and also followed other occupations that would contribute to 
his support. Later, however, he joined Samuel Morse, his younger 
brother, in the purchase of a farm on Dry Hill, in the town of Water- 
town, Jefferson county, and thereafter devoted his time and energies 
to the cultivation of his own fields. About the time he made this 
purchase of property he married Adalaide Rogers, the wedding being 
celebrated September 23, 1830. She was the third daughter of Eli 
and Hannah Rogers, of Watertown. Her father was born in the town 
of Watertown, Massachusetts, May 26, 1774, and on the 17th of July, 
1798. in Natick, Massachusetts, he was married to Miss Hannah Whit- 



348 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

r.ey, who was a native of that place, born August 6, 1778. She repre- 
sented one of the oldest families of that locality, generation after gener- 
ation ot the name occupying the ancestral home there. Eli and Hannah 
Rogers, howe\er, removed to Watertown, Xew York, and purchased 
a farm which adjoins the southern boundary of Brookside cemetery. 
He was accidentally killed October 26, 1818, by the rolling of sawlogs 
down the river bank near his sawmill. He left six children, five 
daughters and a son, who were reared by their mother. These were 
Lois W., who at the time of her father's death was nineteen years of 
age and who became the wife of Jonathan Deming; Sallie Y\'., the 
wife of General x\rchibald Fisher of Theresa, Jefferson county; Chloe 
L., who married Josiah Strong, who resided near \Mndsor, Canada ; 
Esther B., who married George Walton, and after his death became 
the wife of Andrew Seaman, both of her husbands being surgeons 
at Sterlingville, New York; and Eli Rogers, who followed farming in 
the town of Alexandria, Jefferson county. 

Hiram and Adalaide (Rogers) Morse at the time of their marriage 
took up their abode on the farm which he had purchased on Dry Hill, 
but later he sold his interest in this property to his brother and part- 
ner, Samuel Morse, and purchased a farm a mile and a half north of 
the city of Watertown, where he lived until his death in 1864. His 
wife passed away July 25, 1859. They were the parents of five children, 
including Horace Eli ^Morse, who w'as the eldest. The others were 
Willard Hiram Morse, wdio was a photographer, and was born July 
24, 1833. and whose death occurred in Bradford, Illinois, May 5, 1891 ; 
Mrs. Mary Jane Folts, who died in Stockton, California, November 
27, 1869; George W.. a farmer residing at Rices, Jefferson county; 
and Mrs. Imogene Rector, wife of Delos D. Rector, of San Francisco, 
California. 

Horace Eli Morse was born August 24, 183 1, on the Dry Hill 
farm. He was still quite young when his parents removed to the farm 
north of \\'atertown. Not far distant was the schoolhouse, and here 
he steadily attended school until he was old enough to assist in the work 
of the farm during the summer months, after which period his time 
was divided between agricultural labor in summer, and the pursuit of 
knowledge as a student in the public schools in winter. When but 
fifteen years of age he had the privilege of attending a select school 
for two terms, thus coming under the instruction of Josiah Miles, a 
well known educator of that time. He afterward attended the Jefferson 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 349 

County Institute for several terms, although his course of study there 
was not continuous. When sixteen years of age he was licensed to 
teach in what was called the Miles district, in the town of Watertown, 
and through several years following he was variously employed at school 
teaching, farm labor, and attendance at the Jefferson County Institute. 
When nineteen years of age he took up the study of law under the 
direction of Clark & Calvin, of Watertown, but spent only a few months 
in the ofifice each year, otherwise devoting himself to teaching for a 
maintenance, He was admitted to the bar on the 23d of April, 
1854, at the general term of the supreme court held in Oswego, 
New York. For six months thereafter he remained in the office of 
his former preceptors, and then at the suggestion of Mr. Calvin went to 
Clayton in November, 1854. On his arrival at the hotel in Clayton, 
one of the justices of the peace was holding an examination of a prisoner 
charged with arson, and Mr. Morse was immediately employed by the 
complainant to assist in conducting the prosecution. The prisoner was 
discharged for lack of evidence, and the friendly relation then estab- 
lished between lawyer and client was maintained for more than forty 
years. Mr. Morse's subsequent legal record in Clayton was such as to 
require neither mention nor commendation. 

He was ardently interested in the cause of education and the 
superiority of the Clayton Academic School among the educational 
institutions of the county is largely due to his earnest and persistent 
efforts and farsighted judgment. In almost every enterprise having 
for its object the welfare of the town, he was actively instrumental. In 
February, 1855, he was elected town superintendent of schools, an 
office which he held until it was abolished by law. In the autumn of 
1869 he was elected school commissioner for the third district of the 
county and served three years. In 1884 and 1885 he was supervisor 
of the town, and in February, 1887, he was appointed by President 
Cleveland collector of customs at the port of Cape Vincent. In this 
position he served four years, living for the time at the Cape, and leav- 
ing his law business in charge of his son, George E. Morse. In 1891 
he returned to Clayton and resumed practice. In politics he was always 
a firm and consistent Democrat, taking an active interest in public 
affairs from the time he attained his majority. Owing to the fact that 
the principles which he advocated were always those of the minority 
party in the county, he was not as frequently elected to office as might 
otherwise have been the case. 



350 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Horace Eli Morse was married April 8, 1858, to Mrs. Helen Eddy 
Estes, a daughter of Aaron Edd}'. of Clayton, who came from Ver- 
mont to New York with his father, settling in the town of Potsdam, 
St. Lawrence county. He married Miss Catherine Smith of that town, 
and in 1837 established his home in the village of Clayton, where he 
engaged in merchandising and other pursuits as a partner of his brother, 
Luther Eddy, for several years, and success attended their various 
efforts. He died September 7, 1887, in his eightieth year. Mr. and 
Mrs. Aaron Eddys children were four in number : George N., who 
died in 1855; Mrs. Horace E. Morse; Mary, who died in 1858; and 
Mrs. Amy Baars. of Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

Helen Eddy was born February i, 1835. and by her marriage to 
Mr. Morse became the mother of seven children, three of whom are 
now living: Kitty, eldest child, died December 13, 1879. aged twenty- 
one years; George E., mentioned at length elsewhere in this work; 
Horace W., who is cashier of the First National Bank of Clayton, of 
which his father was one of the directors; Addie and Adis, twins; 
the first named died at the age of two years and the second in infancy; 
Florence Alice, who is the wife of F. H. Nash, of Lafargeville ; Claude 
H. graduated with high honors and at the time of his death, at the 
early age of seventeen, had already attained distinction as an orator. 
The death of Mr. Morse, the father, occurred April 27, 1903. His 
loss was felt to be both a private grief and a public calamity, and was 
deeply and sincerely mourned by all classes of the community. 

George E. Morse, son of Horace Eli and Helen Eddy (Estes) 
Morse, was born December 2, 1861, and was educated in Hungerford 
Collegiate Institute and the Albany Law School. He was admitted to 
practice March 28, 1884, and was associated with his father until the 
latter went to Cape Vincent as collector of customs. During the absence 
of his father Mr. Morse practiced alone. Of the position which he has 
for many years held in the ranks of the profession it is sufificient to 
say that it is worthy of the son of such a father. From 1894 to 1898 
he held the office of collector of customs. He is prominently identified 
with the Democratic party, by which he was nominated for senator. 
He is director and secretary of the Prospect Park Company. Mr. Morse 
is a member of the Masonic fraternity, has held ever}' ofifice of impor- 
tance in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, including that of noble 
grand, and has been chief ranger and financial secretary of the Foresters. 

Mr. Morse married in 1886 Eliza Rogers and thev have two chil- 



GEXEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 351 

dren : Ralph I. and \'era. Mrs. Morse is a granddaughter of Ralph 
Rogers, who was one of the early settlers at Point Saluhrious, where 
he cleared up a large tract of land. He married Eliza Warner, and they 
were the parents of a large family, among them Minot I., subject's wife's 
father, who is a farmer at Point Salubrious, where he is also engaged 
in fishing and boat-building. He married Jerusha Haynes, and five 
children were born to them, four of whom are living: Frank; Eliza, 
who was born in Illinois, and became the wife of George E. Morse, 
as mentioned above ; Brayton ; and Robert. Specially noteworthy among 
Mr. Morse's public-spirited efforts for the welfare of the community 
is the active mterest which he has taken in the Thousand Islands Light 
and Power Company, of which he is one of the directors. 

RICHARD L. GRAY, M. D.. of Clayton, New York, who holds 
an honorable rank among the physicians of Jefferson county, is de- 
scended on the paternal side from Scottish ancestry, while through his 
mother he belongs to a family which has been American for generations. 

Richard Gray (grandfather) was born in 1800 in Edinburgh, Scot- 
land, and in 1835 emigrated with part of his family to the United States. 
He was a farmer, and settled first in Clyde, New York, and in 1839 
came to Redwood, Jefferson county, where he spent the greater part of 
his life. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity. He married 
Elizabeth Lindsey, a native of Scotland, and of their six children only 
three are now living : Margaret, who is the widow of Joseph Hoffman, 
of Buffalo, New York; Mrs. George Linnell of Clayton; and John, men- 
tioned at length hereinafter. Mr. Gray, the father of these children, 
lived to be eighty years of age, and died in 1881 at the home of his son, 
John Gray. Mrs. Gray expired the following year at the age of eighty- 
one. Both received and merited the respect and affection of all who 
knew them. 

John Gray (father), son of Richard and Elizabeth (Lindsey) 
Gray, was bom in 1835 in Clyde, New York, where his early }'ears were 
passed. On reaching manhood he went to Redwood. Jefferson county 
(1866), and engaged for a time in farming. In the second year of the 
Civil war he enlisted in Company K, Tenth Regiment New York Heavy 
Artillery, and served for three years. He passed through a number of 
engagements, and at the close of the war was honorably discharged. 
He then returned to Clayton, where he has since been successfully en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits. He is active both as a farmer and citi- 



352 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

zen. He married Nancy Dillon, born in 1837, daughter of Lodwick 
and Julia (Suits) Dillon, of Alexandria. The former was a farmer 
and mechanic. He and his wife were the parents of a large family, 
four of whom are living : James, who resides at Alexandria Bay ; Mrs. 
Edward Maxon, who lives in Hounsfield ; Mrs. Oley Burdick, who now 
resides in Washington county, New York; and Edwin W., who lives in 
Adams Centre, New York. Mr. Dillon attained to the remarkable age 
of ninety years, and died September 2, 1903, at Adams Centre; his 
widow died in 1904. Mr. and Mrs. Gray had a family of six children, 
five of whom are living: Frederick D., who is a farmer in Clayton; 
George E., who is a contractor and builder in Clayton ; Richard L., men- 
tioned at length hereinafter; Edith, who is the wife of De Forest Halli- 
day, of Clayton; Burton, who lives on the old homestead; and Nettie, 
who became the wife of Edward Sprague and died at the age of thirty- 
four. Mrs. Gray, the mother of these children, died in Clayton May 
30, 1900, being then sixty-two years and eleven months old. She was 
a member of the Baptist cliurch and was lovely and estimable in all the 
relations of life. 

Richard L. Gray, son of John and Nancy (Dillon) Gray, was born 
January 31, 1870, in the town of Clayton. His literary education was 
received at the Clayton Union School and the Adams Collegiate Insti- 
tute. Selecting the profession of medicine as his life-work, he entered 
Bellevue Hospital Medical College, from which in the spring of 1897 he 
received the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Returning to Clayton he 
entered upon the practice of his profession. His practice is a large and 
constantly increasing one, and his standing both with the public and the 
profession is undisputed. He is a member of the Jefferson County 
Medical Society. In politics he is a Republican. He is a member of 
the Baptist church. 

Dr. Gray married, in 1900, Gertrude O. Poor, and they have two 
sons : Lloyd Poor Gray and Donald R. Gray. Mrs. Gray, who was 
born at Black River, is the only child 'of Christopher and Mary (Delano) 
Poor. The former is a native of Black River, where his ancestors were 
old settlers. He is extensively engaged in the manufacture of pulp, 
and was the organizer of the electric light plant. He is the son of 
Peter Poor, eldest son of Christopher and Mary (Parkinson) Poor. 
Christopher Poor was born m the state of Maine about the year 1780, a 
son of Peter and Elizabeth Poor. Elizabeth Poor was a native of New 
Hampshire, and after her marriage to Peter Poor moved to the town of 




^^:..^*-6s.wJ?y?i^^^->--^ 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 353 

Bethel, situated near the source of the Androscoggin river, in the state 
of Maine. In the autumn of 1781 the savages came down upon that 
settlement to seek for scalps and plunder, instigated to marauding and 
murderous expeditions by the bounty offered by the British for scalps. 
They entered the house of Mrs. Poor, with two of her neighbors already 
captured and bound, and made inquiry for her husband, who was for- 
tunately absent at the time. After having ate, plundered and rioted as 
they pleased, they went in quest of Mr. Poor, and, without her knowl- 
edge, found him, and, on his refusing to become their prisoner, shot 
him and took his scalp in their sacks. Mrs. Poor fled from her house 
with her children (of whom Christopher was one) and waded the An- 
droscoggin at as great a depth as she dared, in order to avoid being 
traced by the Indians, and at night lodged in the forest. Subsequently 
she became the wife of William Parkinson, with whom she moved to 
Sharon, New York. Later they took up their residence in Rutland, 
New York, where her husband soon died, and where her death also oc- 
curred. Several of her descendants reside in that town. 

Christopher Poor, great-grandfather of Mrs. Dr. Gray, removed 
to New York state about the year 1800. In 1807 he became a resident 
of Rutland Hollow, where he resided at the breaking out of the war 
of ^1812. He was one day plowing in the field when a call was made 
for soldiers, and he unhitched one of his horses and, Putnam-like, rode 
to Sacketts Harbor, where he entered the service. After his return from 
the war he removed down the river and erected a savv"-mill. In 1829 
he removed to the village of Black River, and there built the first bridge 
across the main stream. He also erected the first frame house on the 
Le Ray side of the river, and with others built the first dam on the north 
side of the island. He was a kind-hearted, genial man, of unblemished 
honor and unswerving integrity, and was prominently identified with all 
public enterprises. On July 7, 1803. he married Mar\- Parkinson, and 
their children were: Peter, grandfather of Mrs. Dr. Gray; Margaret, 
Betsey, Polly, Aaron, Moses, Hannah, Christopher S., Asa, Matthew, 
Andrew and Nancy J- Mr. Poor, after a long and useful life, died at 
the residence of his son, February 11, 1854, aged seventy-four years. 
His wife survived him until September 12, 1866. 

PARDON C. WILLIAMS. The life, character and eminent abil- 
ity of Pardon C. Williams, justice of the supreme court, state of New 
York, deserve more than an ordinary recognition, as they form the 



354 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

bio,Qraphv of a man whose remarkable success in life has been attained 
log-icallv as the result of a self-developed character and an unimpeach- 
able integrity. He was born in the town of Ellisburg, New York, Jul)' 
12, 1842, a son of William Williams, who in turn was a son of William 
Williams, who was one of the pioneer settlers of Ellisburg, New York, 
coming thence from Windham county, Vermont. 

W^illiam \Mlliams. Junior, devoted his time and attention to the 
tilling of the soil, acquiring a comfortable competency from his well- 
directed efforts. About the year 1848 he left his father's farm, which 
was located between Ellisburg and Mannsville, and removed to Pierre- 
pont Manor, where he resided many years, owning and occupying sev- 
eral farms. He was a man of unsullied character, possessed the respect 
and esteem of his neighbors, and during his long and useful lifetime 
aided in every enterprise which had for its object the growth and devel- 
npnifut of his ti)\\n and county. He died at the age of eighty-two years, 
and within a vear afterwaril his widow, whose maiden name was Jerusha 
Plummer. also died, at the age of seventy-two years. 

The earlv life of Pardon Clarence Williams was spent on his 
father's farm, and being eager in the pursuit of knowledge, and intensely 
ambitious, he made rapid progress in the excellent common schools of 
Pierrepont Manor, and after his fourteenth year his time was divided 
between farm work and attending and teaching school. Subsequently 
he became a student successively at Union Academy, Belleville, JefifersGn 
county; Clinton Liberal Institute, Clinton, Oneida county; and St. Law- 
rence University. Canton, remaining at the latter institution about two 
years. He taught school during the winter months for six terms, and 
while serving in this capacity he was compelled to reduce to practice 
the knowledge he acquired in the academy during the spring and fall 
terms. Li the spring of 1862 he came to Watertown and commenced 
the study of law in the office of Hammond & Bigelow. then a well known 
law firm of the county seat, and upon passing the required examina- 
tions he was admitted to practice at the bar at a general term of the 
supreme court held at Watertown in October, 1863. Shortly afterward 
he became a member of tlie law firm of Hammond & Williams, Mr. 
Bigelow having dropi)ed professional work to take editorial supervision 
of the ll'aifcrfotvu Times. Later General Bradley Winslow was ad- 
mitted as a partner, the style of the firm becoming Hammond, Winslow 
& Williams, and was so continued until 1867, when Mr. Williams retired 
and began practice alone. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 355 

In the fall of 1868 Mr. \\'illiams was elected district attorney of 
Jefferson count)', and at the expiration of his first term was re-elected, 
serving in that office six years, and at the termination of his second 
term, January i, 1875, he voluntarily retired. During his incumbency 
of office he established a reputation as a successful prosecuting criminal 
lawyer, and by trying his cases unassisted, which was something of an 
innovation at that time, he gained confidence in himself, and an excel- 
lent standing in the profession. In March, 1874, the law firm of 
McCartin & Williams was formed, which was well known in legal 
circles in northern New York for a period of ten years. In his civil 
practice, he was engaged on one side or the other in the most important 
cases in this section of the state, and had a large criminal practice also 
after leaving the office of district attorney, until his election to the 
office of justice of the supreme court for the fifth judicial district of 
the state, in the fall of 1883. June i, 1884, he entered upon the per- 
formance of his duties, served a full term of fourteen years, and was 
then nominated both by the Republican and Democratic judicial con- 
ventions, and re-elected without opposition. In the fall of 1895 he was 
designated by Governor Morton as one of the associate justices of the 
appellate division of the supreme court in the first judicial department 
of the state, and served in that capacity until January i, 1898. In 
1900 he was designated as one of the associate justices of the appellate 
division of the supreme court in the fourth judicial department, for five 
years. It is in the trial of criminals that he is easily the most eminent 
judge in the state. He presided at the trial of Roxalana Druse, for mur- 
der at Herkimer; at the trial of Calvin McCoops at Utica, for the killing 
of Tlieresa Johnson; at the trial of Frank Mondon, for murder at 
Herkimer ; at the trial of Morritz Richter, for the murder of Professor 
Smith, at Herkimer ; at the trial of Susan Hart, charged with killing 
her child at Evans Mills ; at the trial of Clement Arthur Day, for mur- 
der, at Rome; at the trial of Frederick Lipe, for murder, at Rome; at the 
trial of Morris Congdon, for murder, at Cortland ; at the trial of 
Roselle William Mitchell, for murder, at Utica; at the trial of Louis 
Layes, for murder; at the trial of Samuel T. Newell, for murder; at 
the trial of James T. Piatt, at Herkimer; and at the trial of Norris 
Peebles, at Lowville, and later in many murder cases in the city of 
New York. In each of these cases Justice Williams was careful that 
every right the law affords was given to the prisoners, yet his conduct 
of the trial was so masterful that the guilty ones never escaped the 



356 GENEALOGICAL AXD FAMILY HISTORY. 

just punisliment for their crime. His reputation for fairness and thor- 
oughness in criminal trials had become so well established throughout 
the state that Governor Flower, during his adminstration, specially desig- 
nated Justice Williams for the trial of Bartholomew Shea and one 
McDuff at Troyi which was a perilous position for any judge, owing to 
the political prejudices and intense feelings which existed in Troy, and 
also throughout the state. He conducted the trial with such distin- 
guished ability and fairness as to greatly increase his reputation. Shea 
was convicted of murder in the first degree and executed, and McDuff 
of assault with intent to kill and sentenced to state prison for nineteen 
years and six months. In politics Judge Williams is a staunch Repub- 
lican, and has ever given a loyal support to the candidates and measures 
of that party. He was reared in the Universalist faith, but is not a 
member of any church. 

On September 9, 1868, Judge Williams married Sarah E. Hewitt, 
an adopted daughter of the late Clark Hewitt, of Watertown, New 
York. Six children were born of this marriage, of whom three are 
li\ing. namely : Edith, a graduate of Vassar, now Mrs. John Cooper 
Stebbins, of Watertown : Robert Plummer, clerk for his father ; and 
Marguerite, now the wife of Anson Flower Robinson. Mrs. Williams 
and her children are communicants in Trinity church, \\'atertown, New 
York. 

SOLON H. JOHNSON of Clayton, a valued citizen and highly 
respected business man, belongs to a family which was founded in 
America in the early part of the seventeenth century by two brothers 
who emigrated from Wales and settled in Providence, Rhode Island, 
where their descendants continued to reside for nearly two hundred years. 

Waterman Johnson was born September 8, 1803, in Rhode Island. 
He was a farmer, and early in life moved to Herkimer county, New 
York. In 1836 he opened a store in Depauville, which he conducted for 
many years and retired possessed of a competency. He was a promi- 
nent man in the community, and attended the Methodist Episcopal 
church. He married Mary Myers, who was born November 7. 1805, 
and they were the parents of six children, of whom three are living: 
Mrs. Abigail Buntnal. of Clayton, New York ; Willard and Welcome, 
of Bay City, Michigan. Mrs. Johnson died April 20, 1883. and her hus- 
i)and did not long survive her, passing away December 19 of the same 
year. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 357 

James Johnson, son of Waterman and Mary (Myers) Johnson, 
was born May 8, 1824, in Herkimer county. New York, and received his 
education in the common schools of that county. He learned the car- 
penter's trade, and then engaged in business with his father until 1866. 
when he was elected sherifif of Jefferson county and moved to Water- 
town, where he remained until 1869. Having disposed of the business 
in Depauville, he came to Clayton in 1870 and founded the business 
which IS now conducted by his son, Solon H. It was from the begin- 
ning extremely prosperous, and about 1876 Mr. Johnson retired, leaving 
the establishment in the hands of his son. Notwithstanding his close 
attention to business, Mr. Johnson took an active part m public affairs, 
and received from his townsmen many proofs of the high esteem in 
which they held him. In 1865 and 1866 he served as supervisor, and in 
1870 was elected to the assembly of which he was a member for two 
years. He was president of the first board of education ever organized 
■ in Clayton, and acted as delegate to a number of conventions. He was 
a member of the Masonic fraternity, in which he held the office of 
master, and also of the Odd Fellows. He was active in church circles, 
and was for many years a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
and president of the of^cial board. He married Deborah Frye, who was 
lx)rn March 10, 1824, and two daughters were born to them, one of 
whom married Dr. Solomon V. Frame (sketch elsewhere), while the 
other became the wife of Dr. H. W. Streeter of Rochester, New York. 
They were also the parents of a son, Solon H.. mentioned at length here- 
inafter. The death of Mr. Johnson took place February 6, 1900. He 
will long be remembered in Jefferson county as one of the most highly 
respected business men of his day and generation. His widow is still 
living at an advanced age. 

Solon H. Johnson, son of James and Deborah (Frye) Johnson, 
was born September 8, 1855. in Depauville, and was educated in the 
common schools of his birthplace and of Watertown, supplementing the 
instruction there received Ijy a course of study at the Hungerford Col- 
legiate Institute of Adams. He was early employed as a clerk by his 
father, and after the retirement of the latter succeeded to the business. 
He has been continuously connected with this establishment, with the 
exception of five years which he spent in the service of A. P. Tuller & 
Co. of Rome, New York. He is recognized as the leading dry goods 
merchant of Clayton, employs a number of clerks, and carries the largest 
stock of any store in town. As a citizen he holds a high place in the 



358 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

confidence and esteem of liis neighbors. In 1890 he was appointed 
postmaster of Clayton, and served four years, his services during that 
time tending greatly to improve the office. In recognition of this fact 
he was presented with the compliments of the citizens. He takes much 
niterest in the improvement of the school system, and is clerk of the 
board of education. In politics he is a Republican. In town affairs he 
takes an active part, and has served for four years as town clerk. In 
1903. while holding this office, he supervised the building of the beauti- 
ful town hall in Clayton. 

Air. Tohnson has been for many years prominently identified with 
the Independent Order of Foresters, in which he has passed all the 
chairs. At the high court of New York, held in Rochester, February 
27, 1890. he represented his court and was unanimously chosen past 
high chief ranger, an office which he held until 1893, when he was suc- 
ceeded by the Hon. Judge Jacob Stern, but owing to the absence of the 
latter Mr. Johnson represented him in this office at three sessions of the 
high court, serving in this capacity six years and acquitting himself in 
a most creditable manner. In 1893, at the annual session in Utica, New 
York, he secured the holding of the next session at Clayton, and on a 
complimentary ballot was elected as representative to the supreme court 
held in Chicago September i, 1893. At the court held in Clayton, Sep- 
tember 5, 1894, he was elected representative to the supreme court, which 
was held in July, 1895, in London, England, where he was chosen for 
the third time as representative to the supreme court to be held in Tor- 
onto, Canada, in 1898. 

In 1893 he was awarded the magnificent gold cross known as the 
Grand Cross of Merit for distinguished service, this being one of the 
highest emblems of the order. Taking the world at large, only one 
hundred and forty of these crosses can be held by living members at one 
time, and no more can be issued until the death of some bolder. He 
is also a member of Clayton Lodge No. 539, I. O. O. F., and has held 
the office of noble grand. 

Mr. Johnson married December 21, 1882, Celinda, daughter of A. 
F. Barker, a banker and prominent business man of Clayton. Mr. and 
Mrs. Johnson are the parents of two children : Katharine B., who gradu- 
ated from the high school and is now in the Clarkson School oi Technol- 
ogy at Pottsdam, class of 1905: and Beulah M., who is a graduate of the 
high sciiool, and is now m Syracuse University, class of 1907. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 369 

W.VLTER SEEBER. For more than half a cer.tury every resi- 
dent of Depauville has been famihar with the name of Walter Seeber as 
that of an able and successful agriculturist and worthy, upright citizen. 
His grandfather, William Seeber, was a farmer who lived, during the 
latter part of his life, near Little Falls, Herkimer county, where he 
died. Fie and his wife were the parents of seven children — three daugh- 
ters and four sons — all of whom are now deceased. 

Henry W. Seeber, son of William Seeber, was born in 1795, in 
Montgomery county. New York, and was educated in his native place 
and also in Herkimer county. He came to Brownville in 1825, and 
took up a tract of land. He was a very successful farmer, notwith- 
standing the fact that for some years previous to buying his farm he 
had followed the trade of a blacksmith. He was active in local affairs, 
and was much respected by his neighbors, holding for twelve years the 
office of assessor. He was a Republican in politics, and was a member 
of the Methodist Episcopal church. He married Susan Overacher, a 
native of Montgomery county, who had teen early left an orphan. Mr. 
and Mrs. Seeber were the parents of fourteen children, twelve of whom 
lived to old age, and three of whom still survive : A daughter, who is 
the widow of Hiram Mills, late of Watertown; Walter, mentioned at 
length hereinafter; and Franklyn D. of Dexter. Mrs. Seeber, the 
mother of this family, died at the age of seventy-five. Like her husband, 
she was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and was regarded 
with sincere respect and affection by all who knew her. Mr. Seeber's 
death occurred when he had reached the age of seventy-seven. 

Walter Seeber, son of Henry W. and Susan (Overacher) Seeber, 
was born August 20, 1829, in Brownville, where he received his educa/- 
tion. On reaching manhood he took charge of his father's farm, the 
latter having retired from active labor. In 1854 he purchased a farm 
of his own, consisting of eighty-seven acres, and took up his abode 
thereon. He subsequently purchased thirty acres, to which a few years 
after he added fifty-nine, thus becoming the owner of one hundred and 
seventy-six acres of valuable land, which he has since devoted to the 
purposes of general farming and dairying, keeping thirty-two cows. 
For a long period he has stood in the front rank of the enterprising and 
successful farmers of Jefferson county. The only interruption to Mr. 
Seeber's life as a farmer occurred during the Civil war, when he enlisted 
as a private in Company I, Tenth New York Heavy Artilleiy- This 
regiment performed guard duty in the defense of Wash.ington for eigh- 



360 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

teen monlhs, and later was with the Eighteenth Army Corps until 1865, 
when it was mustered out of the service June 21, at Petersburg. Mr. 
Seeber belongs to the Depauville Grange, and is a recognized authority 
on all matters pertaining to agriculture. His political principles are 
those of the Republican party. He attends the Methodist Episcopal 
church, and was for a number of years trustee of the church of that de- 
nomination at Perch River. 

Mr. Seeber married January 11. 1853, Celestia Reynolds, and four 
children were horn to them. During an epidemic of diphtheria Mr. 
and Mrs. Seeber had the great misfortune to lose three of these children, 
Alice, Dier and Clarence, within a very short time, two dying in Febru- 
ary, and one in March, 1862. Their only surviving child is a son named 
De Elton V., who was born June 23, 1867, and received his early edu- 
cation in the common schools of the township. He afterward entered 
the Watertown Business College, where he received a diploma. He then 
attended the Ives Seminar}- at Antwerp, where he also received a 
diploma with high honors. He then entered Cornell University and 
graduated in 1889. He then returned to his father's home, where he 
still resides and is the stay and comfort of his parents in their declining 
years. He married, September 25, 1889, Minnie J. Cheeseman, who was 
born December 25, 1865, in Brookfield, Madison county. New York, 
daughter of the Rev. Anson Cheeseman, who died in March, 1903. De 
Elton and Minnie (Cheeseman) Seeber are the parents of one child, 
Alice J., born August 18. 1890. 

Mrs. Walter Seeber is a daughter of Daniel Reynolds, a carpenter 
of Sandy Creek. Orange county. New York, where he died. He and 
iiis wife were the parents of seven children, who are ail living in their 
native county, with the exception of one daughter, Celestia, who was 
born in 1830, in Sandy Creek, and became the wife of Walter Seeber, 
as mentioned g1x)ve. The names of tlie other children of Mr. and Mrs. 
Reynolds are: Frances Eliza: Ruth; Celestia, wife of Walter Seeber; 
Pamelia, died in 1902: Miranda, Lysander and Philestus, all of Sandy 
Creek. January n, 1904, Mr. and Mrs. Seeber celebrated their golden 
wedding. 

WILLIAM H. LINGENFELTER. Both as a farmer and citizen 
AVilliam PI. Lingenfelter justly ranks among the most valued resi- 
dents of Clayton. He belongs to a family which was founded in this 
country by Michael Lingenfelter, a native of German}-, where he was 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 361 

bom in 1750. He came to America before the Revolutionary war, and 
settled in Montgomery county, Ne^v Yori<, where he and liis brotlier 
purchased a farm of eight hundred acres. Here Michael Lingenfelter 
passed the remainder of his life in agricultural pursuits. He was the 
father of nine children. 

John Lingenfelter, son of Michael Lingenfelter, was born in 1783, 
in Montgomery county, where he received his education, and tlien en- 
gaged in farming on the homestead. During the war of 1812 he 
served in the army. He married Elida, who was born in 1790. in ]\Iont- 
gomery count}-, daughter of Conrad and Elida Winnie. The father 
was born in 1749 in Montgomery county, where he spent the greater 
portion of his life as a farmer. He and his wife were the parents of 
eight children. Mr. Winnie ended his days in Cherry Valley, Otsego 
county. New York, and his wife died at the venerable age of ninety- 
one years. Both were members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and 
were sincerely loved and esteemed by all who knew them. 

iNfr. and Mrs. John Lingenfelter were the parents of the following 
children: i. John, deceased: 2. Jane A., mother of W. H. Consaul, 
a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work: 3. Conrad; 4. 
Catharine; 5. William H., mentioned at length hereinafter; 6. Obadiah : 
7. Susan; 8. Daniel H., a sketch of whom appears on another page. 
In 1838 Mr. Lingenfelter came with his family to Clayton, making 
the jonrney on a sleigh during the winter. Only a few days after their 
arrival he died at the age of fifty-five years, having taken cold on the 
journey. He is remembered with respect as one of the pioneers of 
Clayton, combining the trade of a stone mason with his labors as a 
farmer. His widow subsequently married Rufus Smith, of the town 
of Orleans, near the village of Lafargeville. 

AA'illiam H. Lingenfelter. third son of John and Elida (AA^innie) 
Lingenfelter. was born February 10, 1822, in Amsterdam, Montgom- 
ery county. New York, and received his education in his birthplace 
and in Clayton. At the age of seventeen he began to learn the 
blacksmith's trade in Montgomery county, and at the end of three 
years began to work as a journeyman. After three years more he 
engaged in business for himself in Clayton village, and for twenty 
years practiced his trade with success. In 1856 he bought the farm 
which is now his home, three miles from Clayton, on the road to 
Depauville, and in 1863 took up his abode there. Here he has re- 
sided ever since on a beautiful estate of 358 acres, one of the larg- 



362 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

est farms in the township. It is maintained in a highly flourishing 
condition, the owner devoting the land to general farming and dairying, 
and keeping forty-five cows. He is one of the directors of the National 
Exchange Bank of Clayton. As a citizen he has received from his 
neighbors many tokens of deserved popularity, having served six years 
as inspector of elections and nine years as assessor. To the latter office 
he was re-elected three times, and for six years he held the position of 
chairman of the board. He has also filled the office of supervisor two 
terms ; for one year he was overseer of the poor ; was for several years 
collector, and is now trustee of the school district. He also received the 
appointment of state railroad commissioner, an office which he held 
for eight vears. He is a trustee of the Methodist Episcopal church of 
Clayton, of which for the past thirty years he and his wife have been 
members. He was treasurer of the Grange. In politics he is a Demo- 
crat. 

He married, in 1846, Mary E., daughter of John and Aviary (Smith) 
Wilson, and twelve children were born to them, viz. : 

I. Susan Elida, who married Wallace Littlefield, of Belleville, and 
three children were bom to them, namely : William H., who is a plumber 
in Watertown, married Ally Miser, and has four children. May, Isabel, 
Alliene, and Emma; May Bell, w'ho is the wife of Brayton Rogers, a 
farmer of Three Mile Creek, and has two children, Ina and Glenn; 
Merritt W., a farmer of Orleans, who married Ella Vincent, and is 
the father of three children, Warner, Dora, and William. Susan Elida 
married for her second husband Warren T. Sampson, a farmer of Clay- 
ton, New York. 2. Mary J., who married (first) William Henry, and 
two children were born to them, both of whom are now deceased. She 
married (second) J. Morse; they have five children; Frank M., who 
lives in Michigan, is a stonecutter and contractor, married M. Sayres, 
and has four children: Sidney, Luther, Mary, Walter; George, who 
married Minnie Kelley, and resides in Flint, iMichigan ; Nelson, who 
married Millie Loveland, and they had tw'O children, Bessie, deceased, 
and Geneva Bell; Luella, who is the wife of Otis Loveland, and they 
have one child, Thelme Jenette ; and Julius, who married Mary Ganard, 
and they have one child, Bernice Morse. 3. Emma, who was born 
June 4, 1852, and resides at home. 4. Merritt Erastus, who lives on 
the homestead with his father. He married. January 10. 1877. Frankie 
A., daughter of Almond and Jane (Saulsbury) Barney, and they have 
one son, A. Lee, who married, March 19, 1904, Mable Dodge. 5. Ella 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 303 

A., who is the wife of Nelson Easton, a blacksmith of Depauville, and 
has three children: i. Ermine, who married Frederick Sternberg 
(sketch elsewhere), and have two children, Edwin Glenn, born Sep- 
tember i6, 1900, and W. Frederick, born September 18, 1902, died 
September 30, 1903; 2. Maggie; 3. Glen. 6. Jennie, who married (first) 
George Pierce, and (second) Ernest Bretch, of Lafargeville, and is 
the mother of one child, Myrthel. 7. Minnie M., who is the wife of 
Gustave G. Wetterhahn, a retired farmer, a sketch of whom appears 
elsewhere in this work ; they have one child, Norris. 8. Kate E., who 
married George Daniels, a farmer, and is the mother of two children, 
Emmett E. and Ethel. 9. Nellie C., who married Robert Calderwood, 
of Johnstown, New York, and has twin sons, Harlow and Harold. 10. 
Elma S., who married Frederick Dillenbeck, and is the mother of 
two children, .\lva and Reta. 11. Maggie, wdio died at the age of 
eleven years. 12. John William, who died in infancy. 

Mrs. Lingenfelter is a danghter of John Wilson, who was born 
in England and followed the trade of a shoemaker. On coming to the 
United States he settled in Clayton, where he followed his trade nntil 
1847, when he went to Wisconsin and became a farmer. He married 
Mary, who was born in 1800 in England, daughter of Robert Smith, 
also a native of England, who was employed for years on the estate of 
Lord Dundas. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson were the parents of four children, 
two of whom are living: Mary E., who was born in England, at 
the age of five years was brought to this country by her parents, and 
became the wife of William H. Lingenfelter, as mentioned above ; and 
Peter M., who is a resident of Watertown, Dakota. James J. and 
John R. are deceased. Mrs. Wilson died in 1841, and her husband sur- 
vived her many years, passing away at the age of seventy-seven years. 

FREDERICK JOHN OUINN, one of the popular young business 
men of Carthage, is a native of this state, born June 20, 1867, in Utica. 
His grandfather, John Ouinn, was a native O'f county Waterford, Ire- 
land, and came to America when a young man, and, after spending a 
short time in Canada, settled at Hawkinsville, near Boonville, in Oneida 
county. His last years were passed in Utica, where he died about 1873, 
aged seventy-six years. His wife, Norah, survived him one year, reach- 
ing the age of seventy-seven. They were the parents cf seven sons and 
three daughters. Of these, Thomas, Matthew and Edward died in 



364 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Utica, where John now resides. WiUiam died in infancy, and a second 
of the same name is now in Syracuse. Daniel also resides in Utica. 

John, son of John Ouinn. was born in 1840, at Hawkinsville, and 
remained there on a farm until he was sixteen years old. Since that 
time he has maintained himself, and is now one of the most substantial 
citizens of Utica. At the age mentioned he went to Rome, where he 
was employed at any honest labor that ofifered, and drifted thence to the 
southwest. For about three years he drove a stage running between 
Texas and New Mexican points. After the civil war he went to New 
York, and was employed in McOuade's brewery until 1874. gaining a 
thorough knowledge of the business. In that year, with his brother, 
Thomas Ouinn. he built the Star Brewery at Utica, and they operated it 
until 1900. With John Myres and James O'Toole, he organized the 
Eagle Brewing Company, of which Mr. Ouinn was president, and which 
did a large business. Mr. Ouinn is also a stockholder in the National 
Brewing Company and the Utica Brewery, the last named being now 
consolidated with the Eagle. Mr. Ouinn has acted as charity commis- 
sioner of the city of Utica for the last foi-ty years. He is a Democrat 
in political principle, and a member of St. John's Roman Catholic church 
of Utica. He was married about 1863 to Miss Ann Venn, a native of 
countv Tipperary, Ireland, and daughter of William and Ann Venn. 
She died in 1880, leaving one son and two daughters living, of her nine 
children. The name of the eldest stands at the head of this article. 
Rebecca and Etta, the daughters, are residents of Utica. the former 
being the wife of Thomas F. Hobbes. In 1882 Mr. Ouinn married 

Mary Ann (Welch), widow of Kelly, who bore him nine 

children, of whom six are now living. 

Frederick J. Ouinn grew up in the city of Utica, receiving his edu- 
cation in the public schools. Assumption Acadeiny and Utica Business 
College, graduating from the latter institution at the age of seventeen 
vears. He began his business career in the office of the Star Brewery, 
where he remained until 1888, and was bookkeeper of the Eagle Brew- 
ing Company thereafter until 1894. In that year he became a resident 
of Carthage, coming here to take charge of the bottling works main- 
tained by the Eagle Brewing Company, succeeding George Cahill. That 
he is a safe and efficient business man is demonstrated by the fact that 
lie has continued in the management of the Carthage establishment nine 
years, with satisfaction to himself and his employers. He is a member 
of St. James's church of Carthage, and an influential worker in the 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 365 

local interests of the Democratic party. A genial and well-informed 
gentleman, he deserves the popularity which he enjoys. He married 
Mrs. Grace Millard at Carthage, November 8, 1904. 

FOX. This name is numerously represented in all sections of 
the United States, and in the pioneer history of Jefferson county. It is 
of English origin, and several bearing the name were among the early 
emigrants to Massachusetts, making the tracing of different lines some- 
what diiificult, as christian names are often repeated in all the lines. 

(I) Thomas Fox, who came to this country from England about 
1635, is supposed to have been a grandson or great-grandson of John 
Foxe, author of the "Book of Martyrs." Thomas Fox appears of record 
in Concord, Massachusetts, as a member of the church there, in 1640, 
and he was made a freeman in 1644. He married, first, Rebecca 
French, who died March 11, 1647, and, second, Hannah Brooks, Octo- 
ber 13, 1647. He died in 1658. 

(II) Isaac, son of Thomas Fox, married Abigail Osborn, and 
settled in New London, Connecticut, in 1675. 

(III) ■ Samuel, son of Isaac and Abigail (Osborn) Fox, settled 
in Groton, then a part of New London, about 1690. His wife Mary 
was born April 30, 1687, Jn Medford, Massachusetts. 

(IV) John, son of Samuel and Mary Fox, was born about 1728, 
in Groton, and married Abigail Packer. Their children were : William, 
born 1762, was a Revolutionary soldier; Hannah, Daniel, Samuel, 
James, Asa, Amos and Abigail. Hannah married John Pettengill, who 
was a soldier of the Revolution and talked with Washington. He lived 
to see Lincoln elected president. In 1800 he came to Adams, this 
county, where he passed more than half a century. Abigail, then the 
widow of Sylvester Eastman, came to Adams with her brothers in 1800. 
Amos settled in Onondaga. Samuel married Lucy Williams, and has 
descendants living in Jefferson county, who are in the thirty-eighth 
and thirty-ninth generations from Egbert, first king of England, A. D. 
800. The line is given elsewhere in this work (see Williams). 

(V) Daniel Fox, second son and third child of John and Abigail 
(Packer) Fox, was born March i, 1771, in Groton, Connecticut, and 
went with his parents to Norwich, same county, when five years old. 
Four years later they moved to Guilford, Vermont, where the parents 
passed the balance of their lives. When a young man Daniel Fox came 
to this state, and was married in 1797, at Galway, New York, to Hannah 



366 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Hewitt. She was born August 29, 1774. a daughter of Elisha and 
Tryphena (Bingham) Hewitt. The last-named couple were married 
March 2, 1757, and the latter lived until after 1818, being then a resi- 
dent of Providence. Rhode Island. Hannah (Hewitt) Fox was one of 
the first six to form a Presbyterian society in Adams, in 1803. and her 
husband gave the land for church and parsonage, and one hundred 
dollars toward building them. 

In 1799 Mr. Fox moved to Fort Stanwix (now Rome), and dur- 
ing the same year came on foot to Adams, being accompanied in the 
journey by Loveland Paddock, one of the pioneers of Watertown. Mr. 
Fox purchased five hundred acres of land, and brought his family to 
settle in 1800. He cleared up land on the south side of Sandy creek, 
about two miles east of the present village of Adams, and lived upon 
it for more than seventy-three years, passing away June 23, 1873, being 
nearly four months over one hundred and two years of age. He was a 
man of upright character, and universally respected as a citizen. 

Brief mention of his children follows : Lydia, the eldest, died 
unmarried. Hiram was a farmer, and died near Sackets Harbor. Levi 
was a farmer in Adams, where he died. Elvira and Elmira were twins. 
The former married John Cowles Cooper, who receives further men- 
tion elsewhere in this work. Electa was the w"ife of Captain John O. 
Adams, a soldier of the war of 1812, and resided on a farm between 
Adams and Watertown. 

JACOB SHOECRAFT. Ihroughout the length and breadth of 
Jefferson county no name is more highly respected than that of Jacob 
Shoecraft, who has been for more than half a century one of the leading 
farmers and citizens of Ellisburgh. The Shoecraft family is of German 
origin, and was founded in America by Peter Shoecraft, who emigrated 
from the Fatherland many years prior to the revolution and settled in 
Ulster county. New York. From him are descended all who bear the 
name of Shoecraft in America. Just before leaving his native land, 
or immediately after his arrival in New York, he married Elizabeth 

, the only issue of the marriage being two sons, John and Jacob, 

iioth mentioned at length hereinafter. These two brothers, between 
whom all their lives a warm attachment existed, Iwth served in the 
Revolutionary army, and both received pensions from the government in 
recognition of their service. 

John Shoecraft, elder son of Peter and Elizabeth Shoecraft. was 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 367 

born December 13. 1755, in Ulster county, New York, and in June, 
1807, moved with his family to Penfield, Monroe county. New York, 
where he passed the remainder of his life. He married in Cambridge, 
Washington county. New York, Eh'zabeth McKee, who was born in 
Scotland in 1755. They were the parents of the following children: 

William, born December 25, 1786, married Roxana , had no 

children, and died in 1865 in Norwich, Connecticut; Sally, born October 
29, 1788, married William Harris, and died August 9, 1846; James, 
born December 13, 1790: John, born November 15, 1792, married 

Laura ; Mary Ann, born July 19, 1795, married Lyman Fox; 

George, born August 25, 1797, died in 1798; and Peter, born June i, 
1799, died December 3, 1874. The death o-f John Shoecraft, the 
father of this family, occurred April 14, 1833, in Penfield, Monroe 
county. New York, and his wife expired in the same place December 19, 
1842. 

Jacob Shoecraft, younger son of Peter and Elizabeth Shoecraft, 
was born May 10, 1759, in Ulster county. New York, and married Caro- 
line Sammon, who was born February 9, 1755. She was cousin of 
Jacob and Frederick Sammon, whose tragic history may be found in 
the second volume of Stone's "Life of Joseph Brant." Six children 
were born to Mr. and Mrs. Shoecraft: Joseph, born May 19, 1787, 
married Sarah Calkins, born October 16, 1796, and died February 3, 
1866, his wife passing away April 25, 1876; Polly, who married David 
Pryne, cousin of Sarah Calkins, mentioned above, whose mother's 
maiden name had been Pryne; Rachel, who became the wife of Francis 
Pryne, brother of David Pryne ; Sally, who married George Hufstater ; 
Sarah, who became the wife of Abram Snyder: and Matthew, men- 
tioned at length hereinafter. Mr. and Mrs. Shoecraft, the parents of 
these children, having resided first in Dutchess county. New York, and 
afterward in Herkimer county, in the same state, finally went in 1823 
to the northern part of Oswego county. New York, where they passed 
their last years in the home of their son Joseph. Mrs. Shoecraft died 
January 19. 1834, and her husband passed away February 27. 1836, 
having survived her but two years. 

Matthew Shoecraft, youngest child of Jacob and Caroline (Sam- 
mon) Shoecraft, was born May 30, 1795, and in 1823 moved with his 
wife and children to Boylston (then Orwell). Oswego county. Late in 
life he went to Ellisburgh. this county. He married Hannah Dillenbeck, 
who was born August i, 1797, and they were the parents of a son Jacob. 



36b GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

mentioned al length hereinafter. Mr. Shoecraft and hi? brother Joseph, 
mentioned above, were both soldiers in the war of 1812 and saw service 
at Sacketts Harbor. The death of Mrs. Shoecraft, who was a woman 
of the most estimable Christian character, occurred November 20, 1874, 
and her husband survived her less than a year, passing away August 
25, 1875. 

Jacob Shoecraft, son of Matthew and Hannah (Dillenbeck) Shoe- 
craft. was born February 14, 1819, in the village of Herkimer, New 
York, and at the age of four years was brought by his parents to Os- 
wego county. He remained at home until twenty-five years old, was 
later employed in a distillery at Woodville, and subsequently engaged 
in business in Boylston, and the hired a farm which he conducted for 
about six years. In 1854 he purchased the farm which has since been 
his home, a fine estate of about one hundred acres, well stocked, highly 
cultivated and provided with well constructed and commodious build- 
ings. To this have been added nearly two hundred acres by the sons. 
Mr. Shoecraft is a Democrat in politics. From childhood he has been 
a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, to the support of which 
he has liberally contributed, and has in all his dealings been animated 
by a spirit of benevolence. 

Mr. Shoecraft married, October 5, 1844, Deborah Dingman, who 
was born in 1826 at Boylston, Oswego county, and they have three 
children : Martha L., who is the widow of Leonard Howe, and resides 
with her father ; Jacob E., who lives on the home farm, married Eugenia 
Hitchcock, and has two children, Jacob Eaton and Maud, the latter 
being a teacher; and Arthur, who is unmarried and resides at home. 

ALEXANDER LARMON. Among the farmers of Jefferson 
county, Alexander Larmon of Mannsville holds the place of a recog- 
nized leader. On the paternal side he comes of sturdy Scottish lineage, 
while through his mother he is collaterally descended from one of the 
heroes of English history. 

Hugh Larmonth (as the name was then spelled, the original orthog- 
raphy having been Learmoutithe) was born in Scotland in 1737, and 
w-as by trade a blacksmith. In early manhood he emigrated to America 
and settled at Cambridge, Washington county. New York, where he 
purchased two hundred and ten acres of wild land, at $2.50 per acre. 
This land he cleared and converted into a farm and one hundred and 
ten acres of it still remain in the family. His son, Alexander Larmon, 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 369 

\vas born May 19, 1803, at Cambridge, Washington county, New York, 
and on reaching manhood became in his turn a farmer. He was for 
many years a Methodist class leader, and was a man of influence in 
his town. He married, November 23, 1826, Ruth S. Corey, whose 
genealogy is traced through the following generations : 

Thomas Drake ( i ) was the youngest brother of Sir Francis Drake, 
the greatest all the great navigators who helped to make famous the 
reign of Elizabeth. This Thomas Drake married Elizabeth Aregare, 
and they had one son, Francis Drake (2), who was created a baronet 
and married Jane Bampflyde, but had no issue. After the death of his 
wife he married Joanna Strand, and they became the parents of five 
sons. Their third child, John Drake (3), was born July 28, 1610, 
married, and became the father of six children. He died in England. 
His first child, John Drake (4), was born in England in 1657, and 
was evidently the founder of the family in America, for he there married, 
November 30, 1692, Hannah Moore, and they had live children, of 
whom the first, John Drake (5) was born September 15, 1694, in Wind- 
sor, Connecticut. He married, April 14, 1722 or 1723, Esther Bissel, 
and two children were born to them, of whom the younger, Francis, 
died unmarried and without issue. The elder, Elizabeth Drake (6) 
was born March 5, 1724, and married, April 3, 1742, William, son of 
John Corey, of North Ivingston, New York. They had two sons, and, 
in 1746 William Corey died. February 15, 1748, his widow married 
Thomas Corey, brother of her first husband, and by this marriage be- 
came the mother of four children. Of these the youngest, William 
Corey (7) was born May 16, 1760, married February 25, 1789, Free- 
love Almy, and became the father of eight children. He died Augaist 
21, 1831, at Cambridge, Washington county, New York. Ruth S. 
Corey (8), eighth child of William and Freelove (Almy) Corey, was 
born August 18, 1805, and married Alexander Larmon, as mentioned 
above. 

Mr. and Mrs. Larmon were the parents of thirteen children, of 
whom the twelfth was Alexander, mentioned at length hereinafter. The 
death of Mrs. Larmon occurred January 6, 1846, at Cambridge, Wash- 
ington county. New York, and her husband did not long survive her, 
passing away in 1847. 

Alexander Larmon, twelfth child of Alexander and Ruth S. 
(Corey) Larmon, was born April 22, 1842, at Cambridge, Washington 
county. New York. He was reared on a farm, and was early initiated 



370 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

in a practical knowledge of the different branches of agriculture. In 
1868 he moved to Jefferson county and purchased the farm which is 
now his home, an estate of eighty-se^'en and one-half acres situated 
on the ridge road south of Mannsville, where he conducts a flourishing 
dairy farm. He is an active member of Mannsville Grange, No. 16, 
of which he has been several terms master, and is now chaplain. He 
accepts the Methodist faith and is a stanch Republican. 

Mr. Larmon married, October 24, 1866, at Hoosick, Rensselaer 
county, New York, Thayce E., born April 5, 1846, in West Troy, New 
York, daughter of Rowland E. and Susan (Brickell) Spalding. The 
former, who was a woolen cloth manufacturer at North Hoosick, New 
York, died in 1899 at the age of se\-enty-three. Mr. and Mrs. Larmon 
ha\e four children: Frank S.. who is employed in the cement works 
at Hudson: Corey M.. who is the wife of John H. Howe, a farmer 
of East Haven, Connecticut ; Alexander, who resides at home ; and 
Susie, who is the wife of Charles Parks, a farmer of Memphis. Onon- 
daga county. New York. 

EDWIN LESTER, who was numljered until his death among the 
most respected citizens of Mannsville, was of English ancestry, tracing 
his descent from James Lester, whose forefathers had emigrated to the 
American colonies, and who was born in 1732 in Columbia county, New 
York. In 1826 he moved with his son James to Sandy Creek, Oswego 
county, where they led the life of pioneers. This migration resulted 
in a tragedy, James Lester the elder being burned to death in his cabin, 
in December. 1827. when he had reached the venerable age of ninety- 
fi\e years. The son James married Rebecca Kline and they were the 
parents of six sons and four daughters. 

Henry Lester, son of James and Rebecca (Kline) Lester, was 
born December 10, 1787, and all his life followed agricultural pursuits. 
About 1819 he moved to Oswego county. August 25, 1810. he married 
Sarah, daughter of Calvin Moulton, and ten children were born to them : 
Robert D., Adelia A.. James N.. William H.. Amanda: Edwin, men- 
tioned at length hereinafter; John W., Charles. Harriet A., and Samuel 
N. The death of Mrs. Lester, the mother of the family, occurred Oc- 
tober 6, 1854, in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. 

Edwin Lester, son of Henry and Sarah (^loulton) Lester, was 
born October 15, 18 17. in Columbia county. New York, and was brought 
up on a farm. As a youth he worked on the farm of Levi P. Hughson, 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 371 

near Pulaski. A flourishing dairy was attached to the estate, and 
Edwin assisted in the making of the large cheese which was presented 
to General Jackson on his election to the presidency. At the age of 
nineteen Mr. Lester began to learn the trade of wheelwright, at which 
he worked in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and North 
Carolina, remaining eight years in the last-named state, from the age 
of thirty-f]ve years. In 1859 he settled in Mannsville. where he en- 
gaged in the furniture and undertaking business, which he conducted 
during the remainder of his life. He was much respected by his neigh- 
bors, and for many years held the office of school trustee. He was a 
member and also a trustee of the Baptist church. 

j\Ir. Lester was married August 12, 1858, to Laura (Owen) Eaton, 
a native of Chepachet, Rhode Island, daughter of Arnold Owen, and 
widow of Samuel Eaton. Mrs. Lester has a daughter, Mary Enns- 
worth Eaton, who became the wife of Nathaniel Wood, of Woodville. 
(See Wood.) Edwin Lester and wife became the parents of three 
daughters: Sarah M., who was for fifteen years engaged in teaching, 
but since the death of her father has conducted the undertaking business, 
being a graduate of the Renouard Embalming School of New York 
city; Annie L., who became the wife of Dr. Homer Halyerd Hitchcock, 
a physician on the Isthmus of Panama, who died in April, 1901, after 
which she married the Rev. David B. McMurdy, a Scotch Presbyterian 
clergyman, of New Bedford, Massachusetts; and Cora B., who gradu- 
ated from the Mannsville High School and the Oswego Normal School, 
for some years was a teacher in the Sandy Creek Academy, and died 
Noveinber 4, 1899, at the age of thirty-three. The death of Mr. Lester, 
which occurred March 3, 1897, was lamented by all who knew him, as 
that of an upright business man, a kind neighbor and a good citizen. 

FREDERICK KELLER, an esteemed and enterprising business 
man of Mannsville, Jefferson county. New York, where he has been suc- 
cessfully engaged in the occupation of milling since 1889, was born in 
Beidelsbach, Wurtemberg, Germany, September 27, 1835, a son of 
Frederick and Fredericka (Depew) Keller, the former named having 
been a miller by occupation, and a soldier in the German army. 

Frederick Keller was reared in his native country, educated in 
the schools adjacent to his home, and served an apprenticeship at the 
trade of miller. Having decided to test the opportunities of the new 
world, he emigrated thither in 1866, and at once secured employment 



372 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

in a mill at Mexico, New York, where he remained for four years. He 
tlien located in Oswego, same state, ai:d for a period of time was em- 
ployed in the mill of Jenkins & Huber, going from thence to West Am- 
I)oy, same state, where he hired a mill and conducted the same for 
eleven years. In 1889 he took up his residence in Mannsville, pur- 
chased a grist mill there, and from that date to the present time, a period 
of fifteen years, he has been successful in the management thereof. Po- 
litically Mr. Keller is a Democrat, and fraternally is a member of the 
Masonic order, being affiliated with Amboy Lodge, No. 650. 

On March 24, 1874, Mr. Keller w^as united in marriage to Wilhel- 
mina Strobach, who was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1840, a daughter 
of William and Carolina Strobach. The former was a railroad employee 
in Germany, and is now deceased. By adoption Mr. Keller has two 
sons, as follows: i. Paul Keller, of Williamstown, New York, a miller 
by occupation : he married Rose Balch, of Mannsville, New York, a 
daughter of Orrin H. Balch, a blacksmith. Paul Keller is a member of 
Amboy Lodge, No. 650, Free and Accepted Masons, and a Republican 
in politics. Lie was elected to serve as a delegate to the Oswego county 
convention in 1904. 2. Charles A. Keller, who is employed in the 
mill with his father. He married Irma Sterling, of Mannsville, New 
Yoik, daughter of Hiram Sterling, and they are the parents of two 
cliildren, Carl and Laurine Keller. Charles A. Keller is a member of 
Mannsville Lodge, No. 175, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of 
Mannsville, and of the Mexico Encampment of Richland. He is a 
Democrat in politics. 

MILES COOPER, a pioneer settler of Jefferson county, was born 
May 27, 1769, in Haddam, Connecticut, where his wife. Arsenath 
Cowles, was born March 20, 1771. They were married there and in 
1793 settled in the adjoining town of Durham, where four of their 
children were baptized. In 1803 they came to Adams, this county, 
where they passed the balance of their lives. Mr. Cooper built the 
first frame house in the village of Adams, in 181 1. Their children were 
born as follows: Rodema, November 6, 1793; Ira, January 30, 1795; 
Polly, March 22, 1798; John Cowles, April 12, 1800; Sarah, May 2, 
1804; Nancy, August 10, 1806 (died young): Eliza, December 25, 
1808: (korge, April 3, 181 1: and Nancy, June i, 1813. Miles Cooper 
had brothers, Abner and George. The latter served on board a man- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 373 

of-\var in the Revolution, and in an engagement was wounded in the 
thigh by a sphnter from the rail. 

John Cowles Cooper, born April 12, 1800, as above recorded, was 
an infant when his parents brought him to this county. Here he grew 
up and became one of the leading citizens of the county, prominent in 
social, religious and political life. He was married September 15, 
1824, to Elvira, daughter of Daniel Fox, a pioneer settler of Adams 
(see Fox, V). He died January 26, 1877. In 1831 he experienced 
religion and joined the Methodist church, of which he continued to be 
a faithful and valued member during life. He served many years as 
trustee of the Adams society, to whom he donated the bell of the first 
church, and also land for the enlargement of the building, when the 
growth of the society made expansion necessary. In 1875 he was lay 
delegate to the general conference of the church. 

Mr. Cooper was an energetic and successful business man, operat- 
ing in Canada, as well as his home state. He was among the organizers 
of the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad Company, of which 
he was long a director, and was ever ready to promote any plan for 
the advancement of his community and of mankind in general. In 1855 
he was elected president of the Agricultural Insurance Company, of 
Watertown, and continued to act in that capacity until his death. He 
was for several vears supervisor of the town of Adams, and was every- 
where known for his fair and honorable principles and correct deali'ng, 
either in his private capacity or as a town or corporate official. He was 
among the promoters of the Thousand Island Park, a resort chiefly 
owned and enjoyed by Jefferson count)- people, in the St. Lawrence 
river, his cottage there being the oldest now standing. Mr. Cooper had 
two sons and three daughters. Levi P. Cooper, the son, died in Adams, 
unmarried. Dez\lton, a soldier of the Civil war, enlisted before eighteen 
years old, was lieutenant in the Tenth New York Heavy Artillery, and 
died August 5, 1864. The eldest daughter, Geraldine, became the wife 
of General Bradley \Mnslow, of \\'atertown. and is now deceased. The 
second, Melissa, married U. S. Gilbert, and lives in Watertown. The 
youngest, Adelaide C, is the widow of Jean R. Stebbins, and resides in 
Watertown (see Stebbins). 

HENRY BAILEY, deceased, for many years actively and promi- 
nently identified with the agricultural interests of Jefferson county, con- 
ducting extensive operations on a one hundred acre farm on the Adams 



374 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

road, in close vicinity to the Allendale schoolhouse, upon which he erected 
a handsome and commodious residence in which he lived up to the 
time of his decease, was born on a farm in the town of Lorraine, New 
York, June 5, 1821. His parents were George and Olive (Kasson) 
Bailey, who resided in Broadalbin, Fulton county. New York, from 
whence about the year 1806 they removed to Lorraine, among the pio- 
neer settlers, taking up a piece of wild land which they cleared ofif and 
cultivated, and on which they resided up to the time of their demise 
about the vear 1838. Mr. Bailey was a worthy descendant of Scotch, 
English and Puritan stock. 

Henry Bailev acquired his preliminary education in the schools 
of Watertown, and this knowledge was supplemented by a course at 
Hamilton Preparatory Academy of Hamilton College. From his well- 
directed efforts on the farm he gained a comfortable livelihood, and 
was also enabled to lay aside a competence for his declining years. For 
several years he served as state loan commissioner. He possessed rare 
and excellent ciualities of character, and was highly respected and es- 
teemed by all who came in contact with him. He strictly adhered to 
the tenets of the Baptist church, was a member of Adams Grange, and 
was a stanch supporter of the principles of the Republican party. For 
over twentv years he was clerk of the Adams Baptist Society. 

In 1844 Mr. Bailey was united in marriage to Emily D. Penney, 
who was horn January 6. 1822, a daughter of John and Polly (Brown) 
Penney, who were the parents of the following named children: i. 
George W., a merchant and farmer, lived and died at Newark, Ohio. 
2. Celestine, born in 1818, wife of Albert Washburn, of Adams, a 
farmer. 3. Grove J., born in 1820, a business man of Cincinnati, Ohio. 
4. Emily D., aforementioned as the wife of Henry Bailey. John Pen- 
ney, father of Mrs. Bailey, was a farmer and owned the property 
adjoining the Bailey farm. He enlisted as a private in the war of 
1812 and served at Sackett's Harbor. His wife, Polly (Brown) Penney, 
was a daughter of Asa Brown, one of the pioneers of the town of Lor- 
raine, and its first supervisor. The parents of John Penney were 
Arnmial and Hannah (Haviland) Penney, who came to this section 
of the state from Dutchess county about 1804, becoming one of the 
pioneer settlers of Jefferson county. Ammial Penney was a soldier 
of the Revolutionary war, and thus his granddaughter, Mrs. Bailey, is 
one of the members of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The 
grandparents of Jolui Penney were George and Deborah (Wicks) 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 375 

Penney, the latter named having been a daugliter of George Wicks, a 
Presbyterian nn'nister. wiio came as a missionary from England to the 
Indians in America prior to the Revolutionary war. 

Mr. and j\Irs. Bailey were the parents of seven children : Celestine 
is the wife of James P. Farmer, of Sherburne, Minnesota; Olive J. 
n:arried James McComber, a farmer, and resides in Henderson, this 
county ; John D. is a farmer, residing on the Penney homestead ; Newell 
K. is a bookkeeper, residing in Watertown : Frank H. cultivates the 
paternal farm; Emma C. died in 1892, unmarried; Jesse L. died at the 
age of fifteen years. 

WILLIAM THOMAS, deceased, for many years a well known and 
public-spirited citizen of JefYerson county, was born in Halifax, Ver- 
mont, about the middle of the eighteenth century, a descendant of a 
Welsh ancestry. He was a representative of that class of men known 
as pioneer settlers, who ijy tlieir industry, thrift and perseverance, and 
by suffering many hardships and privations, made this country what it 
is to-day, the best in the world, and they deserve a just recognition at 
our hands. 

In 1800 William Thomas, accompanied by his sons. Benjamin and 
Ira, and the former's wife, came to Jefferson county, New York, by way 
of Rome and Redfield to Watertown, then a small hamlet containing 
three houses, with an ox team and guided by means of blazed trees. 
For a short period of time they remained in Watertov,m, where they 
were engaged in chopping wood, and subsequently they came ^through 
an almost trackless wilderness by way of the Beaver Meadows to the 
vicinity of the south line of Adams, where William Thomas took up a 
tract of land comprising about eight hundred acres and erected thereon 
a log house. Shortly afterward he returned to his former home and 
in Alarch, 1801, brought his family, which consisted of his wife and 
seven sons and two daughters, namely : Benjamin, above referred to as 
having come with his father to Jefferson county, who died in Kendall, 
Orleans county, where most of his life was passed: Ira A., mentioned 
hereinafter; William, James. Joel, Ezra, Elihu. Lucinda, who became 
the wife of Samuel Hibbard ; and Polly, who became the wife of Elihu 
Putnam, a descendant of General Putnam. All the members of this 
family settled in the vicinity of Adams, became farmers, and that section 
received the name of the Thomas settlement. William Thomas was an 
active member of the ^Methodist church, and was instrumental in the 



376 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

organizalion of a class near liis home, later affiliating with the Adams 
society. He served as assessor of the town, and was an influential 
member of the community. 

Ira A. Thomas, second son of William Thomas, was born in Ben- 
nington, Vermont, August 17, 1779. He was united in marriage, May 
2. 1799, to Lucy Allen, who was born in Brattleboro, Vermont, April 
8, 1781, a daughter of Deacon Ezra Allen of the Baptist church there. 
She was one of the most industrious women in the country, performing 
her own knitting, spinning and weaving, and with the proceeds from 
her labor she purchased a part of the material that built the first frame 
building in this vicinity, which is now a part of the house owned by her 
grandson, William H. S. Thomas. Ira A. Thomas and his brother 
Joel were noted as drummers, and were accompanied by their brother 
Ezra or, the fife, furnishing martial music for general trainings, Ira 
and Joel were soldiers in the war of 18 12. Ira was a farmer and car- 
penter, and was known as an expert in hewing timbers. With his 
son c-nd namesake, he contracted for and furnished the timbers for the 
first railroad station at Adams. He served long as trustee, and was 
class leader of the Methodist church, and was a Whig in politics. He 
served as assessor, but did not seek political honors. He died in 1858, 
and his wife in March. 1864. They were the parents of the folkswing 
named children: Eunice, born August 3. 1800, who became the wife 
of the Rev. David Walker, a preacher of the Methodist Episcopal 
church; Lois, born July 20, 1802, who became the wife of Ezra Put- 
nam, a farmer of Adams; Ruth, born July 22, 1804, died at the age 
of forty years, unmarried; Lucy, born November 30, 1806, became the 
second wife of the Rev. David Walker, who married for his first wife 
her sister Eunice; Ira, Jr., born March 10, 1812, a farmer, died in 
Adams; and Lewis N., born May 26. 1818, mentioned at length in the 
following paragraph. 

Lewis Newell Thomas, youngest son of Ira A. and Lucy Thomas, 
attended the Cazenovia Academy, and after his graduation turned his 
attention to farming, purchasing from the heirs the old farm, to which 
he added from time to time until he was the owner of four hundred and 
twenty-fi\e acres. For a number of }ears he served as captain of the 
militia ; was a Whig and Republican in politics, taking an active interest 
in the affairs of his party : and a zealous and efficient member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. On January i, 1838, he married Abbie 
Searles, daughter of James and Abbie (Thurston) Searles, the former 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 377 

named having been a resident of EUisburgh and Lorraine, New York, 
coming thence from Providence, Rhode Island. Two ^ons were the 
issue of this marriage, as follows: Sanford S., a sl<etch of whom 
follows in this work; and William H. S., mentioned at length in the 
following paragraph. On August 24. 1863, Lewis N. Thomas was 
killed by the wind blowing a barn door to the cross-bar, striking him 
with force enough to cause his death. 

William Henry Seward Thomas, youngest son of Lewis N. and 
Abbie Thomas, was born March 10, 1840. He received a liberal edu- 
cation at Union Academy, and his active career has been devoted to 
agricultural pursuits which were pursued on the^old homestead, of 
which he is the owner. He is an active and consistent member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, a Republican in politics, and a member' 
of Union Grange at Belleville. He married (first) October 6, 1869, 
Annie J. Searles. daughter of the Rev. John M. and Philomela A. 
(Stoddard) Searles, whose death occurred October 5, 1876. Philomela 
Stoddard was a daughter of Rev. Eliakin and Lois A. (Matthews) 
Stoddard. Mr. Thomas married (second) February 26, 1880, Mary 
A. Gregg, who was born July 24, 1858, and she bore him the following 
named children: Lewis N., born February i, 1881, employed on the 
home farm: Ira A., born June 30, 1882, a florist, residing at Syracuse; 
Cynthia J., born November 2, 1885, a graduate of L^nion Academy, 
now fitting for a teacher: Harrison M.. born June 23, 1888, a student 
at Adams; William S., born January 22. 1892: and Wheldon Newton, 
tern July 19, 1894. ]\Irs. Thomas, the mother of these children, is a 
member of the Episcopal church. 

The Searles family trace its ancestry to ( i ) Edward Searles, born 
in Warwick, England, about the year 1616, who came tO' Boston, Massa- 
chusetts, in 1634, and died about the year 1679. He married the widow, 
Joan White, who was the sister of Edmund Caverly. Their son Ed- 
ward (2), born in 1646, married Ann Lippet, February 21, 1671, and 
they were the parents of four sons, namely : Benjamm, who married 
Hannah Holden ; Richard, who married Widow Burton ; Solomon, who 
lived in Bristol, Rhode Island, in 1723; and James, a resident of Con- 
necticut. Solomon Searles (3), mentioned above, was the father of 
Nathaniel Searles (4) of Rhode Island, who married Elizabeth H. 
Little, and their son, Constant Searles (5), was killed at the battle of 
Wyoming in the revolutionary war by the Indians, ir, the vear 1778. 
In 1748 Constant Searles married Hannah . and thev were the 



378 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

parents of James Searles (6), aforementioned as the father of Abbie 
Searles. James Searles was born August 4, 1769, in Stonington, Con- 
necticut. He was a tailor by trade, and continued in that avocation 
during his active life. He died April 30, 1847, i" Ellisburgh. His 
children were : Mary Ann, Lucia, Fannie, John M., Priscilla, James H., 
William T., Betsey, Moses T., Bernard D., and Abbie. 

SANFORD SUMMERVILLE THOMAS. Among the practical 
and progressive agriculturists of Adams, Jefiferson county, which town 
received its name in honor of John Adams, the second president and 
the first vice-president of the United States, who was born in Braintree 
(now Ouincy), Massachusetts, October 19. 1735. may be mentioned the 
name of Sanford S. Thomas, a son of Lewis N. and Abby (Searles) 
Thomas, who was born on the old homestead of the Thomas Settlement 
(see W. H. S. Thomas for genealogy), October i, 1838. 

He obtained a thorough and practical education in the common 
schools of his native town, at Union Academy, Belleville, which he 
attended one term, and a select school at Adams Center, under Horace 
Otis as principal, which he attended two terms. He began his active 
career as teacher in the district school, in which capacity he served for 
several terms, and in 1866 he purchased the Stickney farm, consisting 
of fifty-six acres, which he cultivated and improved, and erected thereon 
a fine, commodious house on the bank of the north branch of Sandy 
Creek. His general farm and dairy products are of a fine quality, and 
therefore find a ready sale in the nearby markets, and the proceeds 
therefrom provide his family with the necessaries and many of the 
comforts of life, besides providing a competence for his declining years. 
At the breaking out of the civil war, when his country required the 
services of her loyal and faithful sons, he enlisted in a .New York 
regiment, but was rejected on account of a physical disability. Mr. 
Thomas has ever been a stanch adherent of Republican principles, and 
cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln, one of our martyred presidents. 
He is a member of Rising Sun Masonic Lodge, No. 234, and of Adams 
Chapter, Royal Arch Masons. 

In i860 Mr. Thomas married Phila N. Spencer, who was born in 
Depauville, New York. March 8, 1843, s"*! their children are as follows: 
Jennie E.. born September 30, 1862, died August 12, 1895. Newel S., 
born September 20, 1864, is an engineer on the West Shore Railroad; 
he married Hattie E. Robbins, and resides in Svracuse, New York. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 379 

Bernard S., born January 22, 1866, is now engaged in farming at Adams 
Center; he married (first) Cora B. Turner, and (second) Mabel Green. 
Fannie died at the age of ten years; George C, born February 7, 1868, 
resides at home; he married May Wiley, January 11, 1894; Frank, born 
July 26, 1873, is a farmer, residing in Adams, and was united in mar- 
riage to Nellie M. Archer; James C, born April 3, 1875, married Nellie 
Reed, and resides in Little Falls, New York. Ruth, born October 22, 
188 1, was educated at Union Academy, is now engaged in teaching, 
and resides at home with her parents. 

WILLARD DURLIN McKINSTRY, who since 1886 has been 
connected with the "Watertown Daily Times," of which he is now 
editor and president of the Brockway Company, publishers, was born 
at Fredonia, Chautauqua county. New York, October i, 1850. His 
father, Willard McKinstry, was for more than half a century connected 
with the "Fredonia Censor," of which he became proprietor and editor, 
and thus from his early boyhood days W. D. McKinstry was more or 
less actively connected with newspaper work. 

He began his education in the public schools of his native town, 
continued his studies in the Fredonia Academy, and then entered the 
State Normal School. He learned the printing business in the office 
of the "Fredonia Censor," of which his father was the publisher and 
editor, and embarked upon an independent journalistic venture in 1872, 
when he purchased the "Dunkirk Journal," of Dunkirk, New York, 
continuing its publication until 1884. 

Mr. McKinstry came to Watertown in 1886, and soon afterward 
accepted a position as news editor on the "Watertown Times." Later 
he was made assistant editor under Beman Brockway, and acted in 
that capacity until the death of Mr. Brockway, to whose position he 
succeeded, and has since served in that connection. The "Watertown 
Times" is the oldest paper of the city. Under the name of the "Daily 
News" the first issue of the paper was given to the public in January, 
1 86 1. On the 20th of January, 1862, this was sold to the owners of 
the "Daily Reformer," and on the 4th of January, 1870, the name of 
the paper was changed to the "Watertown Times." It was then a 
small paper, having a limited circulation, but a fair advertising patron- 
age. This paper developed into the "Watertown Daily Times," now 
one of the leading daily journals of this part of the state. Mr. Mc- 
Kinstrv has exerted considerable influence in local political circles, both 



380 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

tlivough the columns of the "Times," and through individual effort In 
other directions, and he was appointed as the Republican member of 
the civil service commission by Governor Flower, and also served for 
one year under Governor Morton's administration. 

\\TLLIA!^IS. This name, of undoubted \\'elsh origin, has been 
represented from the earliest beginnings of New England, as well as 
from the pioneer settlement of Jefferson county. Some of the most 
prominent di\ine?. jurists, soldiers, and other noted men of the countcy 
have borne the name, and Jefferson county has no cause to blush for its 
representatives in the ])resent and past generations. 

(I) Riibert Williams was born in England about the year 1593, 
perhaps in Norwich, county of Norfolk, and was married before com- 
ing to America to Elizabeth Stratton. He disembarked at Boston, with 
his wife and several children, in the year 1637. Before the close of 
that vear he had joined the neighboring settlement at Roxbury, and 
this earlv his name and that of his wife are found upon the 
records of Roxbury church, to which the Rev. John Eliot then minis- 
tered. He was there made a freeman, May 2d, of the following year. 
That he was a stanch and typical Puritan, whose scruples forbade his 
conformity with the tenets of the Established Church in England during 
the intolerant reign of the first Charles, and encouraged his departure 
thence for Massachusetts Bay, where he could the more freely exercise 
his individual rights of conscience, may readily be believed from the 
single glimpse had of him as signer of the petition to the governor of 
the colony, in 1672, in censure of Harvard College. He was one of the 
five townsmen or selectmen in 1647 ^"^ 1653, and was interested in 
the early founding of schools in Roxbury. Ellis speaks of him as "one 
of the most influential men in the town affairs," and Farmer calls him 
"the common ancestor of the divines, civilians and warriors of the 
name who have honored the country of their birth." His wife Eliza- 
beth died July 28, 1674, aged eighty years. He married," November 3, 
1675, for his second wife, Margaret, widow of John Fearing, and upon 
her death he married, according to tradition, a Martha Strong, who 
died December 22, 1707. aged tiinety-two. His last will and testament 
is dated November 26, 1685, and was probated September 29, 1693. 
He died at Roxbury. September i. 1693, aged one hundred years. 

(H) Captain Isaac Williams, born September i, 1638, baptized 
in September, 1638, in Roxbury, Massachusetts, married, in 1660, for 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 381 

his first wife, Martha Park, born March 2, baptized March 13, 1643, 
the third daughter of Deacon William and Martha (Holgrave) Park, 
of Roxbury. In 1661 he settled in Cambridge village, now Newton, 
Massachusetts, and was there made freeman in 1685. He and his wife 
were among the earliest members of the first church instituted at Cam- 
bridge village, and he was afterward deacon therein. He served as 
captain of a military company and was selectman, 1691-93, and deputy 
to the general court, 1692, 1695, 1697, 1699, 1701 and 1705. In 1706 
he was chosen with two others on the first school committee. His wife 
died October 24, about the year 1676, aged thirty-four. He married, 
November 13, 1677, for his second wife, Judith Cooper, of Taunton, 
Massachusetts, who died in 1724, aged seventy-six. He died February 
II, 1707, aged sixty-eight, and was buried under arms by the Company 
of Foot, at Newton, February 14, 1707. His last will and testament 
bears date of January 31, 1704, but was set aside by the court for undue 
influence, July 27, 1708, on petition of disaiifected heirs. 

(III) Isaac Williams, born December 11, 1661, baptized March 
II. 1662. in Cambridge village, Massachusetts, married, about 1685, 
for his first wife. Elizabeth Hyde, born September 4, 1659, the eldest 
daughter of Jonathan and Mary (French) Hyde, of Cambridge village. 
They were both early members of the church in Cambridge village, in 
which settlement he continued to reside until within a few years of his 
decease. He was captain of the military company at Newton, and select- 
man for that town, 1734. His wife Elizabeth died June 26, 1699, aged 
thirty-nine years. He married, in 1709, for his second wife, Mary, 
widow of Nathaniel Hammond, Jr., and, upon her death, a third wife, 
Hannah. He soon afterward removed to Roxbury, where he died 
June 27, 1739, aged seventy-seven. His last will and testament is 
dated December 12, 1738. 

(IV) Ebenezer Williams was born October 16, 1691, in Newton, 
whence he early removed to settle in Lebanon, Connecticut, soon after 
its organization as a town. The deed for his first purchase of land is 
dated November 17, 1718. He was married there on July 27, 1721, to 
Mary, eldest daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth Veach, of Lebanon. 
His name is found on the records of Lebanon (Goshen) church as a 
member thereof, April 2, 1732, and upon the records of the town as a 
lieutenant and selectman, 1736 and 1738. His last will and testament 
is dated March 5, 1740. and he died August 6, 1740, aged forty-eight 
years. His widow died prior to March 25, 1782, at which date letters 



382 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

of administration were granted upon her estate to Jonathan, the eldest 
son. 

(V) Veach WilHams, born April 23. 1727, baptized April 29, 
1727, in Lebanon, was married October 12, 1753, to Lucy Walsworth, 
born December 3, 1732, fourth daughter of William and Mary (Avery) 
Walsworth, of Groton, Connecticut. He resided in Lebanon from birth 
until death, and the names of both himself and wife appear on the 
records of the Third (or Goshen) church as admitted to membership 
November 24. 1776. He was captain of a company of Connecticut 
colonial militia, and for the fourteen consecutive years from 1765 to 
1778, inclusive, was townsman or selectman, together with Jonathan 
Trumbull, governor of the colony. William Williams, signer of the 
Declaration of Independence, Hon. Joshua West, Captain Seth Wright, 
and one or two others, who constituted the remaining members of that 
board during the greater part of this period. Here, at the home of the 
governor of the colony and of the speaker of the colonial house of 
representatives, at a time when all was busy preparation in anticipation 
of an eventful war, it may be presumed those called into the service 
of the town were its most patriotic and representative citizens. He was 
deputy to the general court of Connecticut in 1785. His death occurred 
September 11, 1794, at the age of seventy-seven. His wife Lucy died 
August 10, 1795. aged sixty-two years. 

(VI) David, son of Veach and Lucy (Walsworth) Williams, 
married Lucy, third daughter of William and Amy Walsworth, and 
went to Rome, New York, whence he removed to Adams, this county, 
in 1800. 

(VII) Lucy, daughter of David and Lucy (Walsworth) Will- 
iams, married Samuel Fox. and settled in Adams in 1800. Samuel 
Fox was a son of John and Abigail (Packer) Fox, of Groton, Con- 
necticut (see Fox). 

The Fox family, of Adams, in this county, are probably traced to 
a more ancient and noble ancestry than any others, except it lie some of 
their kin. The line begins about A. D. 800. 

(I) Egbert, seventeenth and last king of the West Saxons and 
first King of England, married Lady Redburga. 

(II) Ethelwulf, king of England, married Lady Osburga. daugh- 
ter of Oslae. 

(III) Alfred, crowned king of England 871. married Lady 
Elswitlia. daughter of a Mercian earl. 



GENEALOGICAL AXD FAMILY HISTORY. 383 

(IV) Edward, the elder, king of England, married Edgnia, daugh- 
ter of Earl Sigelna. 

(V) Edward, king of England, married Lady Elfgiva. 

(VI) Edgar the Peaceable, king of England, married Elfrida, 
daughter of Oedgar. duke of Devonshire. 

(VII) Etheldred, called the Unready, king of England, married 
Elfleda, daughter of Earldorman Thored. 

(VIII) Edmund, the Ironside, king of England, married Lady 
Algitha. 

(IX) Edward, the Exile, married Agatha, daughter of Henry, 
emperor of Germany. 

(X) Margared. daughter of Edward, the Exile, married Malcolm 
III, king of Scotland. 

(XI) Matilda, daughter of Malcolm III, king of Scotland, mar- 
ried Henry I, king of England. 

(XII) Matilda or ]\Iaud. daughter of Henry I. married Geoffrey 
Plantagenet, count of Anjou. 

(XIII) Henry II. king of England, married Eleanor, daughter 
and co-heir of William, duke of Aquitaine. 

(XIV) John, king of England, married Isabella, daughter of 
Aymer, count of Angoulene. 

(XV) Henry III. king of England, married Eleanor, daughter 
of Raymond, count of Provence. 

(XVI) Edward, king of England, married Eleanor, daughter 
of Ferdinand III, king of Castile. 

(XVII) Edward II. king of England, married Isabella, daughter 
of Philip IV, king of France. 

(XVIII) Edward III, king of England, married Philippa. daugh- 
ter of William, count of Hainault. 

(XIX) Lionel of Antwerp, duke of Clarence, married Lady Eliza- 
beth de Burgh, daughter of William, earl of LUster. 

(XX) Lady Philippa Plantagenet married Edmund Mortimer. 
earl of March. 

(XXI) Roger Mortimer, fourth earl of March, married Lady 
Eleanora Holland, daughter of Thomas, earl of Kent. 

(XXII) Lady Anne Mortimer married Richard Plantagenet, earl 
of Cambridge, son of Edmund, duke of York. 

(XXIII) Richard, duke of York, and nephew of the duke of 



384 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

York, who was killed at Agincourt. married Lady Cicely Nevill, daugh- 
ter of Ralph, earl of Westmoreland. 

(XXIV) George, duke of Clarence, K. G., brother of Edward 
IV. married Lady Isabel, daughter and co-heir of Richard, earl of 
Salisbury and Warwick. 

(XXV) Margaret, countess of Salisbury, married Sir Richard 

Pole, K. G. 

(XXVI) Henry, Baron Montague, married Lady Jane, daughter 
of George. Lord Abergevenny. 

(XXVII) Lady Catherine Pole married Francis Hastings, sec- 
ond earl of Huntingdon. 

(XXVIII) Lady Catherine, daughter of Earl Huntingdon, mar- 
ried Henry Clinton, second earl of Lincoln. 

(XXIX) Lomas, third earl of Lincoln, married Lady Elizabeth, 
daughter and co-heir of H. Knevitt, of Carlton. 

(XXX) Lady Susan, daughter of Earl Lincoln, married General 
John Humfrey, of Lynn, Massachusetts Bay colony. 

(XXXI) Miss Ann Humfrey married William Palmer, gentle- 
man, of Ardfinnan. Province of Munster, Ireland. 

(XXXII) Miss Susannah Palmer married Mr. Samuel Avery, of 
New London, Connecticut. 

(XXXIII) Miss Mary Avery married :\Ir. William Walsworth. 
of Groton, Connecticut. 

(XXXIV) Miss Lucy Walsworth married Mr. Veach Williams, 
of Lebanon. She w-as the fourth daughter of William and Mary 
(Avery) Walsworth, and was born December 3, 1732, in Groton, 
which was a part of New London until 1704. Her marriage occurred 
October 12, 1753, her husband being the second son of Lieutenant Ebe- 
nezer and Mary (Veach) Williams, of Lebanon. Mrs. Lucy (Wals- 
worth) Williams died August 10. 1795. aged sixty-two years. Her 
husband died September 11, 1804, aged seventy-seven years. 

(XXXIV) William, third son of William and Mary Avery Wals- 
worth, married Amy (no surname found), born September, 1727, died 
May 3, 1810, and had eight children. 

(XXXV) Lucy, third daughter of William and Amy Walsworth, 
married David Williams, of Groton. Connecticut, and moved to Rome, 
New York (see Williams, VI). 

(XXXVI) Lucy, eldest daughter of David and Lucy (Wals- 
worth) Williams, married Samuel Fox, a pioneer settler of Adams. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 385 

(XXXVII) Edward Williams Fox, third son of Samuel and 
Lucy (Williams) Fox, married Caroline Frances Stevens. 

(XXXVIII) Frances Caroline, second daughter of Edward W. 
and Caroline F. (Stevens) Fox, married Azariah Sawyer (see Sawyer, 
VIII). 

(VI) William Williams, son of Veach and Lucy (Walsworth) 
Williams, was born August 2, 1762, in Lebanon, Connecticut, and was 
married May 20, 1784, to Lydia, daughter of Samuel Williams, of 
Lebanon. She died June 22, 1790, at the age of twenty-six years, and 
he was married in 1793 to Lydia, daughter of Joseph Loomis, of Leb- 
anon. Mr. Williams wag a farmer in Lebanon, which town he repre- 
sented in the state legislature in 1813. He died November 5, 1818, and 
was survived exactly forty-three years by his widow, who passed away 
X'ovember 5, 1861, in Lebanon, aged ninety years. 

(VII) Ebenezer Williams, son of William ^^'illiams, was born 
in 1807, in Lebanon, and died Xovenilier i, 1857, in Pierrepont Manor, 
aged fifty years. He was early a resident of North Adams, this county, 
and moved thence to Pierrepont Manor, where he was man\- years en- 
gaged in building operations, being a carpenter and cabinet maker by 
trade. He married Elizabeth Earle, daughter of James Earle (see 
Earle. VI), who long survived him. She was a woman of bright intel- 
lect and fine character, who reared her children well. Going with some 
of them to LeSeur, Minnesota, she there married Orr Tousley, and 
died about 1880. Following is a brief account of her children: Eliza- 
beth married Clinton Smith, and subsequently Daniel Bannatyne, of 
LeSeur, and is but recently deceased. A woman of fine mind and con- 
siderable culture, she was an ornament to society. Preston L., the sec- 
ond, receives farther mention below. Electa married David Imhofif, of 
LeSeur. Earle died in LeSeur about 1875. Brayton was a resident of 
Ackley, Iowa, where he died about 1885. The sixth died in childhood. 

(VIII) Preston Lament Williams, second child and eldest son 
of Ebenezer and Elizabeth (Earle) Williams, was born January i, 
1835, ''^ the town of Ellisburg, near Pierrepont Manor, and there grew 
to manhood. His education was supplied by the public school, and he 
began his business career at the early age of fifteen years. His father 
was the owner of a vacant store in the village of Pierrepont Manor, and 
the son began a mercantile business in it, which continued about ten 
years. In the meantime he began dealing in farm produce, and on clos- 
ing the store he purchased a canal boat which he commanded and oper- 



386 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

ated on the Erie canal some three years. Returning to his native 
jjlace he continued to deal in produce, making occasional excursions into 
Canada and buying up produce throughout northern Xew York, which 
he marketed in New York city and New England points. This con- 
tinued thirty years, at the end of which period he moved to New York 
city and engaged in the produce commission trade at the location now 
occupied bv his son. Frank Williams. Subsequently he spent four years 
at Falls City, Nebraska, dealing in produce. Returning to New York 
he became interested with his son in the hay trade, and traveled much 
through the country in the interest of the Ijusiness. For the last three 
years he has lieen retired from active life and resides with a daughter 
at Baldwin, Nassau county, New York. After a long life of keen activ- 
itv he is now enjoying the fruits of his lalior, thrift and sagacity. 

For several years Mr. Williams was clerk of the Union Church 
at Pierrepont Manor, and has been for many }ears a member of Zion 
(Protestant Episcopal) Church of that village, \\niile taking no part 
in practical politics be has always been a strong supporter of Republi- 
can principles, and has lieen respected as an upright citizen. He was 
married Octolier 24. 1857. to Miss Pamelia Howell, who was born De- 
cember 27. 1834. at South Rutland, a daughter of William and Mary 
Howell, the former a native of England and the latter of Jefferson 
county. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Williams included nine children, 
of whom record follows : Nettie L., the eldest, is a resident of St. 
Paul. Minnesota. Edward Preston is mentioned at length hereinafter, 
as is also Fred AI., the third. Catherine, wife of Ralph Calkins, died 
at Pierrepont Manor in 1898. Frank is the subject of later paragraphs. 
Mary is the wife of Charles Paine Cook, of Baldwin, New York. George 
Washington is a hay dealer in Brooklyn, New York. Nellie resides at 
Mannsville and Hettie B. at Ogdensburg. The mother of these chil- 
dren died in April, 1899, ^^ Pierrepont Manor. 

(IX) Edward Preston Williams, eldest in the family of Preston 
L. and Pamelia (Howell) Williams, was born June 3, i860, at Pierre- 
pont Manor, New York, where he continued to reside until eighteen 
years old. He attended the local school until seventeen years of age, 
and then began assisting his father in the produce business. In 1879 
he went to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where be learned telegraphy and 
railroad bookkeeping, and was subsequently employed successively by 
the Minnea])olis & St. Louis, the Chicago, St. Paul. ^linneapolis & 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 387 

Omaha and the Nortliern Pacific railroad companies as station agent 
and telegraph operator. 

In 1883 Mr. Williams moved to Albany, New York, where he has 
since made his home and where he has been and is interested in S(ime 
of the leading business enterprises of the city. Ever since his arrixal 
there he has engaged in the produce commission trade, and has been 
active in organizing large undertakings. He constructed the plant of 
the Capitol City Cold Storage Company, which he sold to the present 
owners. He was one of the organizers of the Consumers' Ice Corn- 
pan}', which is still conducting a successful business, and is also a char- 
ter member of the United States Building. Loan and Mutual Accom- 
modating Association. Mr. ^\'ilIiams originated the Schenectady & 
Albany Electric railroad company, and organized the Empire State 
Cold Storage and Warehouse Company, which has a large plant under 
construction. He is the organizer and present treasurer of the Salmon 
River Lumber Company, which holds a large tract of valuable timber 
land in Orwell, New York. 

While active in business affairs, Mr. Williams is interested in the 
general progress of his state and nation, and is somewhat active in 
political councils, acting with the Republican party, though not an aspir- 
ant for official honors or emoluments. Like others of his family he 
attends the Episcopal church. He liolds high rank in the Masonic fra- 
ternity having attained the thirty-second degree. He was married in 
1886, to Mrs. Ida G. (INIerriam). widow of Howard Buckland, of 
\\'hitehall. New York. She is a member of the old New England fam- 
ily, long generally known through the publication of Webster's Diction- 
ary, and is a highly cultivated and graceful lady, fitted to preside over 
the handsome home of her husband. 

(IX) Frederick McClellan Williams, second son and third child 
of Preston L. and Pamelia Williams, was born March 22. 1863, at 
Pierrepont Manor, where he attended the district school until fifteen 
years old. With the Yankee propensity for business which seems to 
be highly developed in his family, he set out at that age to make his way 
in the world. Securing employment on the Rome, Watertown & Og- 
densburg railroad, he became a baggage master and telegraph operator. 
In 1882 he went to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he continued in 
railroad work, being operator and clerk in the service of the Minne- 
apolis & St. Louis railroad company. From 1886 to 1892 he was sta- 
tion agent of the Chicago, St. Paul. Minneapolis & Omaha railroad at 



388 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Winnebago City, Alinncsota. For one year subsequent to this he was 
travehng passenger agent of the same road, and from 1893 to 1899 was 
its city passenger and ticket agent at West Superior, Wisconsin. 

Mr. Williams became a resident of New York in 1899, and was 
two years identified with the business of his brother. Frank Williams. 
In September. 1901. he formed a partnership with W. D. Power, under 
the stvle of \\'. D. Power & Company, since which time this firm has 
done a successful Imsiness in wholesale ha}', straw and produce com- 
mission. Having had a thorough business training Mr. Williams was 
especially fitted for this undertaking, and much of its success is due to 
his alertness, energy and business sagacity. He is popular with the 
trade, and deserving of the prosperity which attends his efforts. 

Mr. Williams became a member of the Masonic fraternity in \\'in- 
nebago City. He is an Episcopalian in religion an^ a sound Republican. 
He was married August 15. 1889, to Miss Marion Elizabeth Payne, 
a native of Trempealeau, \^^isconsin. daughter of Chauncey H. and Nellie 
R. (Russell) Payne. One son completes the family, namely: Edward 
Payne ^^'illiams, born June 23, 1890. and now a student in high school. 
(IX) Frank Williams, third son and fifth child of Preston L. 
and Pamelia Williams, was born January 11, 1865, at Pierrepont 
^lanor, and received an introduction to business at a very youthful age. 
He attended the local district school until twelve years old, since which 
time he has made his own way in the world. While boys of his age 
were enjoying youthful spurts he was attending to business and form- 
ing the habits which have made him pre-eminent in the commercial 
world. For three years, from twelve to fifteen, he made himself useful 
in a general store at Pierrepont Manor, and for the next two years was 
simiLarl}- engaged at the village of Ellisburg. Thence he went to Adams, 
where he acted as janitor of a store, sleeping in the building as watch- 
man at the same time, while taking a year's course in Hungerford 
Collegiate Institute in that village. Having fitted himself for a better 
position, he soon found it in the store of Bush, Bull & Roth, at Water- 
town. \\ hence he went to Alliany to join his elder brother in the pro- 
duce trade. 

In 1886 ]\Ir. Williams became a resident of New York city, going 
there tn take ch;irge of a branch establishment for his brother. After 
one year in this connection he went into business on his own account, 
having associated with himself Robert B. Hungerford, with John R. 
Van Wormer as a special partner, under the style of F. Williams & 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 3S9 

Compau)-. For a }ear tliis firm dealt in produce, hay and straw at 
Ninth Avenue and Fourteenth street, and for three years thereafter 
Mr. Wilhams was associated with Hungerford, Sanford H. Weeks 
and Emory M. Van Tassel, in the manufacture of oil and flaxseed meal 
and dealing in hay, straw and grain at the foot of West Eleventh street. 
At the end of this period the firm was dissolved, and Mr. Williams has 
continued alone in the wholesale hay and straw trade at the Hay Ex- 
change, Thirty-third street and Eleventh avenue, during the last four- 
teen years. His business and name are widely known, thoroughly estab- 
lished and recognized among the leaders of the United States. A genial 
and kindly gentleman. Mr. Williams enjoys the friendship and esteem 
of many, and his business success is well deserved. While active in 
business he is also known in social and club life, and contributes his 
measure toward the progress of the world. He is a director of the 
Chelsea Exchange Bank, which does the largest business among hay 
dealers in New York, and is state vice president of the National Hay 
Association. A member of the Republican Club, the Jefferson County 
Society, the New York Athletic Club and Columbian Yacht Club, he 
takes pleasure in life as he goes along, and thus keeps his forces fresh 
and is ever alert for business during business hours. 

He was married April 4, 1901, to Miss Elizabeth Bothlick Currie. 
who was born at Thirty-fifth street and Fifth avenue, and they have a 
delightful home on St. James Court. Haxing Iiegun life at a very early 
age, Mr. Williams has accomplished more than most men at his present 
time of life, and is able to enjoy rational pleasures to the fullest. His 
example may be profitably emulated by others, and it is the province 
of this work to commemorate it. 

EARLE. The Early family is among the earliest of New Eng- 
land, and was early planted in Jefferson county. The name has many 
spellings in the New England records, such as " Earll, Erl. Erie, and 
Earl," but that beginning this article is most generally used by its bearers. 

(I) Ralph Earle came from England alxiut 1634, probalil}- from 
Exeter, accompanied by his wife Joan, and settled at Portsmouth, 
Rhode Island. He is found of record there October i, 1638, among 
the fifty-nine accepted inhabitants of the island called " Aqueedneck." 
He died at Portsmouth in 1678. The records show that he was a large 
landholder, as many sales are found. In 1649 ^"^ 165 1 he was elected 
town treasurer, and in the latter year was overseer of the poor. In 
16^1 he was assessor, and sold a tenement with eight acres of land 



390 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

in tliat year, and next year sold fifty-two acres near Pawtuxet Falls. 
He served repeatedly as grand juror, kept an inn in 1655. and joined 
a troop of horse in 1667, being subsequently its captain. He was one 
of three commissioners to try Indians on a criminal charge. His chil- 
dren were: Ralph, William, Mary, Martha and Sarah. 

(II) William, second son and child of Ralph and Joan Earle, 
married (first) Mary, daughter of John and Katharine Walker, of 
Portsmouth, the latter a daughter of Widow Walker (see Walker). 
Three children were born ()f this marriage, and the second wife was 
named Prudence, who Ijore him four children. He died January 15, 
1715, and his widow passed away January 18, 171S. He was made a 
freeman iNIay 11, 1658, and was a juryman the same year. In 1668 
with William Corev he built a windmill, for which they received a 
small parcel of land to be held as long as the mill was operated for the 
public convenience. This was exchanged for other land and was sub- 
sequently reconveyed in exchange. In 1670 he removed to Dartmouth, 
:\Iassachusetts, where he possessed over two thousand acres of land. 
and where many conveyances by him are on record. In i6gi the gen- 
eral court met at his house instead of at Newport on account of the 
"distemper." In 1704 and 1706 he was deputy to the general court. 
His will dated November 13, 1713, have a negro girl, "Kate," to his 
daughter. His children were: Mary, \Villiam, Ralph, Thomas, Caleb, 
John, and Prudence. The eldest daughter married John Borden, and 
the youngest was the wife of Benjamin Durfee, 

(III) John, youngest son of William Earle, and third child of 
his second wife, Prudence, was married February 27, 1700, to Mary, 
daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Wait) Cook, of Tiverton. He was 
a landholder and lived near Bristol Ferry, where he died August 12, 
1759, being survived by his wife. Their children were: Prudence, 
Mary, Oliver, Martha, William, and John. Mary became the wife of 
Job Durfee and Martha married Stephen Brownell. 

(I\') \\'illiam. second son and fifth child of John and Mary 
(W^ait) Earle, was born Alarch 28, 1710, in Portsmouth, and was mar- 
ried ?^Iay 29, 1740. to :\Iary Lawtnn. of Newport. He was a farmer 
near the head of Westport ri\er, in that part of Dartmouth which was 
set off during his lifetime as the town of Westport. There he died 
.\l)ril 13, 1797. He had two hundred acres of land and one of the best 
rural homes of his time. His children were: Lawton. John, Caleb, 
William, Pardon. Stephen, Robert and Paul. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 391 

(V) Caldi, third son and clnld ..f William and Mary (Lawton) 
Earle. was liorn X(nenil;er u. 1743. in Dartmouth, a twin of John. 
He was married December 26. 1764, to Elizabeth Brightman, of Dart- 
mouth, and resided in W'estport, whence he removed with his children 
to Galway, Saratoga County, New York. His children were: James, 
Prudence, Najor and Arnold. 

(VI) James, eldest cliild of Caleb and Elizabeth (Brightman) 
Earle, was born March 24, 1765, in Westport, Massachusetts. As a 
young man he was engaged in the whale fishery and removed, in 1800, 
to Galway, New York. He died December 11, 1857, at Pierrepont 
Manor, this county. He was married May 20, 1787, to Elizabeth Soule, 
who was born October 13, 1762, and died March 7, 1844, in Westport. 
Their children were: Hannah, Prudence, Caleb, J(jhn, James (died 
when eleven days old). Nancy, William, James, Alfred (died about a 
year old), Eli, Alfred and Elizabeth. 

(VH) Elizabeth, ycningest and twelfth child of James and Eliza- 
beth ( Soule) Earle. was Ijorn September 3, 1807, in Westport, and be- 
came tlie wife of Ebenezer Williams (see Williams, VH), as elsewhere 
related. 

W'AYNE STEWART, now deceased, was a lifelong resident of 
the town of LeRay, and through many years was an active representa- 
tive of its agricultural interests. He was born August 16, 1847, upon 
his father's farm in this town, a son of John and Sophia (Potter) 
Stewart. 

His paternal grandfather, John Stewart, Sr., was born in 1785, 
and was the first supervisor of the town of Pamelia in its early days, 
when the unbroken wilderness confronted the early settlers of Jefferson 
county. He married Olive Barnes, who was born in Connecticut in 
17S8, and died at the age of eighty years. They were the parents of 
seven children, all of whom have now passed away. The parents of 
Wayne Stewart were natives of Pamelia township. The father was 
born there July 2. 1814, and was reared upon the old homestead, while 
to the common schools of the neighborhood he was indebted for the 
educational privileges he enjoyed. After attaining man's estate he 
turned his attention to farming — the occupation to which he had been 
reared — and throughout a business career he carried on agricultural pur- 
suits, remo\'ing to the old family homestead after the death of his father. 
Tliere he spent his remaining days, passing away in 1S63, when forty- 



392 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

nine rears of age, while his wife died March 26, 1875. in her fifty-ninth 
year. She was a member of the UniversaHst church. She was born in 
PameHa township August 23, 1816, and was a daughter of EHsha and 
Polly (Steel) Potter. Her father was born in Rhode Island, March 8, 
1787, became a resident of Hounsfield, and afterward removed to Evans 
Mills, where he spent his last years upon a farm. His wife, born 1795, 
died at the age of eighty years, in 1875. In their family were six chil- 
dren : Mrs. Sidney Cooper, Mrs. Piatt W. Devenport, William. Mrs. 
Rezot Tozer, Mrs. Sophia Stewart, and Samuel T. Potter. Through the 
Potter family the lineage of Wayne Stewart can be traced back to the 
beginning of the seventeenth century in English history, while through 
the Steel and Wolcott families there is an unbroken descent from Roger 
Wolcott, the first colonial governor of Rhode Island. 

Wayne Stewart was one of two children, and upon the home farm 
he remained through the period of his boyhood and youth. He attended 
the district schools through the winter months, mastering the studies 
there afiforded as a preparation for higher education, which he received 
later in the academies at Antwerp and Gouverneur. At the age of six- 
teen years, on account of his father's death, he began conducting the old 
homestead farm, and cared for his mother until her demise in 1875. He 
then removed to Evans Mills, but throughout the greater part of his 
business career was connected with agricultural interests. After dis- 
posing of the old homestead he purchased two other farms in the town 
of LeRay, comprising over five hundred acres of very valuable and pro- 
ductive land. This property he devoted to general farming and dairy 
purposes, and he kept fifty head of cattle. One of his properties was the 
historic Delafolia farm on the bank of the Indian river. In his business 
he was very progressive and enterprising, keeping abreast with the prog- 
ress continually being made along agricultural lines. The latest im- 
proved machinery facilitating his farm work and all modern equipments 
and accessories were found upon his place. In his political views Mr. 
Stewart was independent, supporting the men rather than the party, 
and fearlessly advocating any cause which he believed to be for the wel- 
fare of the majority. He belonged to the Grange, and was always active 
and influential in promoting any movement that he believed would re- 
dound to the benefit of the agricultural class. 

In 1872 Mr. Stewart was united in marriage to Miss Wealthy M. 
Barnes, a daughter of Randall and Mary A. (Woodworth) Barnes. Her 
father was a farmer of the town of LeRav, and died at the age of sixtv- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 393 

eight years. Her mother, a native of Oswego county, New York, had 
a family of five children, of whom three are hving: Reuben, who is 
now a resident of Colorado: Harvey, who makes his home in Boston, 
Massachusetts; and Asa R., who resides in Auburn, New York. Mrs. 
Barnes passed away at the age of fifty years. Her daughter. Mrs. 
Stewart, born in 1849, '^^^'^ i" '^^79- ^^ the age of twenty-nine years, leav- 
ing one child. Ada ^^'., who is now deceased. For his second wife Mr. 
Stewart chose Miss Zerviah L. Davenport, their marriage being cele- 
brated in 1884. V She was born April 6, 1852, in Lowville, New York, 
and is a daughter of Addison Davenport, one of the early settlers of 
Lewis county. By the second marriage was born one daughter, Mayme. 
Mr. Stewart, who was spoken of as "a genial, pleasant gentleman, highly 
respected by all," died at his home in Evans Mills December 30, 1903, 
in his fifty-sixth }-ear. 

JOHN E. JONES. M. D.. an active member of the medical pro- 
fession at Evans Mills, was iiorn in Cleveland, Ohio, April 17, 1872. and 
is of Welsh lineage. 

His paternal grandfather, John W. Jones, was born in Wales in 
1815. and there passed his life. His son. John W. Jones, father of Dr. 
Jones, was born in Wales in 1842, and after arriving at years of ma- 
turity came to this country and located in Ilion, New York, where he 
was employed by the Remington Arms Company. Thence he went to 
Cleveland, Ohio, where he followed the carpenter's trade for some time. 
In 1877 he established his home in Rodman, New York, where he con- 
tinued for three years, and in 1880 he went to Watertown, where he 
resided until 1893. At that time he removed to Buffalo, where he has 
since been actively identified with building interests. He married Alice 
A. Robinson, who was born in Rodman, New York, in 1845, ^ daughter 
of Erastus Robinson, one of the early settlers of that locality. There 
her father resided through many years, and passed away at the age of 
se\-entv-six. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Eliza Bovee, was 
born in Herkimer county, Nev\ York, in 1820, and by her marriage be- 
came the mother of three children : Candace, who is now the wife of 
Augustus Yerden, living at Pierpont Manor; Mrs. Jones; and George, 
who makes his home in Rodman, where his mother is also now living. 
To Mr. and Mrs. John W. Jones were born five children : John E. ; 
Edward, a prominent practicing physician of Buffalo ; Charles, Frederick 
and Arthur, who reside in Buffalo. Patriotism has been one of the 



394 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

strong characteristics of the family, as has been manifest in the crises 
of American liistory. At the time of the civil war six of the relatives 
of Dr. Jones were soldiers in defense of the Union, and one fell on the 
held of Gettysburg, Lieutenant Melvin Bovee ha\-ing been killed while 
bravelv defending a position of importance there on the third of July, 
1863.' 

Dr. John E. Jones accompanied his parents on their removal from 
Cleveland, Ohio, to Watertown, when about five years of age, and the 
following year entered the public school, in which he continued his course 
of study until he was graduated from the high school with the class of 
1891. Following his graduation he determined to make the practice 
of medicine his life work, and to this end entered the of!ice of Dr. O. C. 
Eastman of Watertown, who directed his reading for two years. On 
the expiration of that period the family removed to Buffalo, and Dr. 
Jones completed his studies in the University of Buffalo. He received 
practical training as a physician in the medical and surgical departments 
of the General Hospital at Buffalo, and on retiring from that position he 
located at Evans Mills, where he began practice as the successor of Dr. 
L. E. Jones, whose office and residence he purchased in 1896. He has 
a large practice in LeRay and adjoining townships, and his knowledge 
of the science of medicine is comprehensive and accurate, for he has 
supplemented his college training by extensive reading and investigation. 
He iDelongs to the Jefferson County Medical Society, and is court physi- 
cian of Court Xo. 1552, I. O. F., of Evans Mills. He likewise belongs 
to Pisgah Lodge of Evans Mills and to Watertown Chapter of the Ma- 
sonic Order, and is senior deacon of the lodge at Evans Mills. His 
political allegiance is given to the Democracy, and he is now serving as 
health officer of the town of LeRay. 

In 1893 Dr. Jones was married to Miss Lottie ]\Icore, who was 
born in Pulaski, Oswego county. New York, in 1875, a daughter of 
.\nson and Eretta Moore of that place. Her parents still reside there 
and Mrs. Jones is their only living child. To Dr. Jones and wife have 
been l)orn three children : Everett J., Ethel M. and Alice. 

WILLLVM PEIRCE FREEMAN, one of the leading farmers of 
the town of Champion. New York, a progressive and enlightened citizen, 
is a descendant of New England ancestors. 

His grandfather, Barney Freeman, born October 10, 1774, moved 
from Canaan, Connecticut, to Delaware county, in this state, where he 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORV. 395 

ilied X(i\eniber 3, 1808. His widow, whose jnaiden name was Anna 
Peirce, and whose birth occurred October 4, 1778, relumed with her 
children to Canaan, Connecticut, where she died shortly afterward. 
They were married January 2, 1798, and were the parents of six chil- 
dren, as follows: i. Daniel, born September 24, 179!^; he studied for 
the ministry and was ready to preach when his death occurred on Octo- 
ber 6, 1827. 2. Lois, born January 2, 1800, became the second wife of 
Willard Knowles, and died in Oneida county in February, 1862. 3. Ed- 
ward D., born February 11, 1802, was for many years a teacher at 
Troy, New York, passmg his last days in Schenectady, where he died 
August 26. 1874. 4. Orrin, born April 13, 1804, died in Litchfield 
county, Connecticut, June 11, 1869. 5. Silas, born ^larch 3. 1806, 
mentioned at length hereinafter. 6. Laura, born April 11, 1808. died 
May 10, 1808. 

Silas Freeman, the fifth child of Barney and Anna Freeman, was 
born March 3, 1806, in Delaware county, this state, nnd grew up in 
Canaan, Connecticut, where he attended the public school until fourteen 
years of age. From that time until he was twenty-one years old he 
served an apprenticeship to the trade of clothier, or cloth weaver and 
finisher. Li 1828 he located in Champion and bought a cloth mill on 
Townsend creek, south of the "State Road," which he operated for some 
years. Soon after his arrival he acquired a farm of sixty acres on the 
"State Road," which he occupied and tilled, also carrying on the cloth 
business at the mill. About 1845 '''^ sold out and moved to Carthage, 
where he operated a carding machine and spent a short time in a saw- 
mill. He moved in 1870 to the farm now occupied by his son, on Cham- 
pion street, the residence occupying a commanding eminence, overlooking 
much of the towns of Champion and Wilna. He was a very industrious 
man, of iiigh character and universally respected. He died December 
31, 1884, and his remains were deposited in Hillside Cemetery, near 
Champion village. For many years he was deacon of the Congregational 
church at Champion village, and during several campaigns he was one 
of only fi\e in the town of Champion who voted the Abolition ticket. 
Naturally he joined- the Republican party upon its organization. He 
served the town several terms as assessor, and was faithful in every 
relation of life. He was married February 14, 1833, to Nancy Colton, 
daughter of William and Hannah (Dorwin) Colton, early settlers of 
Gouverneur, New York, where Mrs. Freeman was born. They were 
natives of Connecticut and Vermont, respectively. Four children were 



396 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

given to Silas Freeman and wife: William P., mentioned hereinafter; 
George C, who resides in Sherman, Texas : Frances Maria, who is the 
widow of the Rev. William Graves, who was a resident in the southern 
part of the town of Watertown, at the present time (1904) of Adams 
Centre; and Silas Augustine, who is a farmer in the town of Leyden, 
near Constableville, Lewis count)-. The mother of these children died 
September 28, 1895. 

William P. Freeman was born December 20, 1833. in the town 
of Champion. He attended the district school, a select school at Cham- 
pion and Bush's Academy at Carthage. He partially prepared for col- 
lege by his studies at home, while engaged during the day in the duties 
of the farm. In 1856 he matriculated at Yale College as a sophomore, 
and graduated with high standing in 1859. He was especially strong 
in mathematics and political economy, but his close application had 
undermined his health, and he was obliged to return to the farm to re- 
cuperate his vitality. Soon after he entered the office of John Clark, at 
Watertown, to pursue a course in law, but this was broken off by the 
advent of the civil war in the land. His patriotic spirit could not brook 
the insults to the flag, and he immediately enlisted as a private in the 
Tenth New York Heavy Artillery, Company K, and served with it three 
vears. After one year he was promoted to second lieutenant, and sul>- 
sequentlv to first lieutenant. During much of his service he was on de- 
tached duty, acting as artillery instructor in three of the forts about 
Washington. He participated in the last fight at Petersburg, April 2, 
1865, and was soon after discharged. 

Returning to Champion, he purchased a farm and since 1878 has 
occupied his present residence, and cared for his father and mother in 
their old age. The stone house in which he resides, which constitutes 
one of tlie landmarks of the town, was built by his mother's uncle, Will- 
iam Dorwin, about 1823. Mv. Freeman's farm embraces three hundred 
and thirty-six acres, on which is a large "sugar Inish," from which he 
produces from two thousand to five thousand, five hundred pounds of 
maple sugar per annum. Fie also operates a large dairv, using the milk 
of forty cows. With inherited Yankee genius, he is original and has 
perfected several lalDor-saving devices now in daily use. Among these 
are enormous windmills which are used for grinding feed and various 
other purposes. These are placed above his large barns, and are visible 
from distant points. 

Mr. Freeman is an acti\'e member of Champion Grange, and is 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. .^^T 

widely known in that connection, as well as for his progressive ideas, 
frequently announced in the press and on the lecture platform, pertaining 
to political economy. In politics he is an independent Republican, bound 
by no machine organization, and has always avoided official station, 
though competent to fill any. The principles of the Republican plat- 
forms appeal to him, as they did to his father, hence he calls himself a 
Republican. His wife is an active member of the Methodist Church, 
the services of which he attends with iier, and he also contributes liberally 
to its support. 

Mr. Freeman was married June 28, 1893, in Albany, New York, 
to Miss Leila M. Miller, a native of Schenectady county, and daughter 
of Robert G. and Mary Louisa (Eighmey) Miller of that county. She 
was born October 24, 1863, in the town of Duanesburg. One son was 
the issue of this marriage, William Roland M., born May 8, 1895. Mrs. 
Freeman's maternal grandfather, the Rev. Samuel Eighmey, was a native 
of Dutchess county, New York, was a pioneer Methodist minister of 
New York and Vermont, aipd his death occurred on his farm in Schenec- 
tady county, March 4, 1847, aged fifty-eight years. His health broke 
down by reason of his arduous labors in the various fields in which he 
worked so faithfully for the uplifting of the Gospel. Her father, Robert 
G. Miller, was for many years engaged in agricultural pursuits in Albany 
county, but is now a resident of Champion; his wife, who died May 12, 
1899, aged fifty-nine years, was the mother of seven children, two of 
whom died in infancy, and the surviving members of the family are as 
follows: Mrs. William P. Freeman; Mrs. G. G. Marsh of Rutland, 
Jefferson county ; Austin E. Miller of New York city ; Mabel E. Miller, 
trained nurse, of Cortland, New York, and Robert Edward Miller of 
New York city. 

Mrs. Freeman is a graduate of Speir's Albany Listitute of Short- 
hand and Typewriting, where she afterward taught shorthand and tvpe- 
writing for two years and a half, at the same time being general manager 
of the institution. For a short time previous to her marriage she occu- 
pied an office of her own in Albany. Mrs. Freeman is a direct descend- 
ant of one of the Drapers, who came over in the "Mayflower." She has 
in her possession the marriage certificate of her grandfather, above men- 
tioned, dated November 10, 1818, his license as local preacher, deacon 
and elder in the church, her grandmother's letter to the church of Gran- 
ville, Connecticut, dated May 5, 1823, and many other choice relics. 



398 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

WILLIAM H. DECKER. Both as a business man and a citizen, 
William H. Decker of Deferret belongs to the class of men who. by 
their industry, integrity and enterprise, contribute to the advancement 
and prosperity of the community. He is a grandson of James Decker, 
who was born in Llolland and emigrated to the United States. He took 
up a small tract of land in Ancram, New York, where he spent the 
remainder of his life. He married Hannah Spease, who was also a 
native of Holland, and they were the parents of seven children : Mary, 
who married Jcihn De Vause, of Great Barrington, Massachusetts: John 
A., mentioned at length hereinafter; Sarah, who became the wife of 
Henry Smith, of Holyoke, Massachusetts; Louise, who married John 
Crippen, and resides in Holyoke, Massachusetts; James, who lives in 
South Hadley, Massachusetts; William Henry, deceased; and Josephine, 
v,ho is the wife of Warren Van Buren, of South Lee, Massachusetts. 
All the family were members of the Baptist church. Mr. Decker, the 
father, died at the comparatively early age of forty-five, and his widow 
survived to old age. Both were estimable and worthy members of 
society. 

John A. Decker, son of James and Hannah (Spease) Decker, was 
born in 1830, in Ancram, New York, where he was educated, and then 
entered a wrapping-paper mill, where he remained some years. Later 
he went to Holyoke as foreman in a fine writing-paper mill, and held 
this position for a number of years. He moved to Lee, Massachusetts, 
in order to accept the position of general superintendent of a paper 
company. This responsible position he retained twenty years, and at 
the end of that time engaged in business for himself in East Lee, where 
he conducted a paper mill for four years. His next removal was to 
Westfield, Massachusetts, where for a number of years he had charge 
of the mill of the Springdale Paper Company, and then spent three years 
in the mill of the Glen Manufacturing Company, at Berlin Falls, New 
Hampshire. After remaining two years with the Ivanhoe Paper Company 
of Paterson, New Jersey, he spent the same length of time in the mills 
of the Ontario Paper Company in Brownville. and Watertown, New 
York, and then went to Rumford's Falls, Maine, where for six years 
he had charge of a mill. At Millinockett, Maine, he was general super- 
intendent of tlie Great Northern Paper Company, the largest in the 
world. .-Vfter superintending the reconstruction of all the buildings of 
the plant, he retired from business and is now li\ing in a small village 
near Rumford's Falls, Maine. He takes an acti\e interest in local 



CEXEALOGICAL AXD FAMILY HISTORY. S'J'J 

affairs, and is one of the leading men of the town, having held the 
offices of first selectman, chief of the fire department and chief of 
police. He is a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, having 
passed through all the bodies, and is also a noble of the Mystic Shrine. 

Mr. Decker married Sarah Goodrich, who was born in 1835, in 
Springfield, Massachusetts, and five children were born to them, four 
of whom are living: Mary, wlio married Frank Sibley, of Middle- 
town, Connecticut; William H., mentioned at length hereinafter; Stella, 
who became the wife of \\'illiam Hebner, of Millinockett, Maine; and 
Grace, who resides at home. All the family are members of the Con- 
gregational church. In 1878 Mr. Decker and his children had the 
great affliction of losing the wife and mother, who died at the com- 
paratively early age of forty-three, when her son William H. was but 
ten years old. 

William H. Decker, son of John A. and Sarah (Goodrich) Decker, 
was born May 22, 1868, in Lee, Massachusetts, where he received his 
education in the common and high schools. Later he took a course in 
a business college, and upon leaving it kept books for his father for a year 
in Lee, Massachusetts. He then applied himself to learning paper 
making, and thoroughly mastered all branches of the business, and be- 
coming thoroughly proficient. He took his first positio^n of trust with 
the Taggart Paper Company in the capacity of night superintendent at 
Felt's Mills, in Jefferson county, Massachusetts. At the end of a year 
he went to Rumford's Falls, Maine, where he had general charge of a 
mill un.der the superintendence of his father. After remaining there 
six years he came to Deferret, to assume the superintendency of the 
St. Regis Paper Company. The buildings for this plant had just been 
completed, and under the supervision of Mr. Decker the machinery 
was all placed in position in a one-hundred-ton mill, equipped with all 
the latest improvements, and employing three hundred men. This is 
the largest mill in this vicinity. In connection with it is a forty-ton 
sulphite mill and a 150-ton ground wood mill, the entire plant being 
known as the most completely equipped plant anywhere in this section, 
if not in the L'nited States. Mr. Decker has full charge of these great 
works, and also of a large number of houses which are the property of 
the company, most of them having been erected under his personal 
supervision. He is probably the youngest man occupying so prominent 
a'position anywhere in this section of the country. 

He is a member of the INIasonic fraternitv. affiliating with Brown- 



400 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

ville Lodge No. 53. F. & A. :\I. ; Watertown Chapter, No. 59, R. A. M., 
and to the Knights of Pythias, the Order of Red JNlen and to the Elks. 
He is a RepubHcan. 

Mr. Decker married, in 1892, Steha Johnson, and they are the 
parents of one child, Carleton W., who was born August 28, 1898. Mrs. 
Decker is a daughter of John Johnson, a hotel proprietor, who is now 
deceased. He and his wife were the parents of five children, four of 
whom are living: Cora, who married Charles Codman, of Brownville; 
]Maggie. who is the wife of Leroy Buchanan; John, who resides in 
Charlotte, New York; and Stella, who was born in 1870, in Brown- 
ville, and became the wife of William H. Decker, as mentioned above. 
Mrs. Johnson, the mother of the family, is still living at Brownville. 

CHARLES WATSON SLOAT. Among the leading representa- 
tives of the manufacturing interests of Jefferson county Charles W. Sloat 
of Watertown is conspicuous. His grandfather, Henry Sloat, who was 
born in 1785, of Dutch parentage, came from Orange county, this state, 
to Jefferson county and was one of the early residents of Brownville, 
where he purchased a tract of land. After remaining there a few years 
he went to Orleans, Jefferson county, and settled on a farm near Stone 
Mills, where he spent the remainder of his life in agricultural pursuits. 
He served in the war of 1812 with the rank of paymaster, having his 
headquarters at Sackets Harbor. He was a member of the Presbyterian 
church. He married Jemima Kane, a native of Henderson, and they 
were the parents of six sons and two daughters, all of whom reached 
maturity and were educated in this vicinity. Mrs. Sloat was seventy- 
five years old at the time of her death and her husband passed away at 
the age ot eighty. Both were esteemed by all as useful and worthy mem- 
bers of society. 

John Sloat, son of Henry and Jemima (Kane) Sloat, was born in 
1818, in Brownville, and received his education in his native town and 
in Orleans. For a time he engaged in farming and later learned the 
cooper's trade, which he practiced with great success in Watertown, 
vvhither he came in 1842. His political affiliations were with the Repub- 
licans. He married Lydia Doane, one of a family of eleven children, of 
whom the sole survivor, Levi, now resides in California. Mr. and Mrs. 
Sloat were the parents of three children : Charles W., mentioned at 
length hereinafter; Eldred G., who is a resident of Watertown; and 
Delia L., who is the wife of Henry Ellery, a miner and rancher near 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. -iOl 

Santa Barbara, California. 2\Irs. Sloat, tlie mother of the family, clieJ 
at the early age of thirty, when Charles W. was but six years old. Mr. 
Sloat reached the age of seventy-five years. He was a man whose genial 
nature won for him a host of friends. 

Charles W. Sloat, son of John and Lydia (Doane) Sloat, was born 
October lo, 1840, in the village of Great Bend, Jefferson county. New 
York, and acquired a liberal education from the public schools of the 
towns of Pamelia and Watertown. When in 1861 the call for volunteers 
was issued, he was among the first to answer and enlisted in Company H, 
Ninety-fourth New York Volunteers, being shortly made sergeant. 
After serving his country faithfully for three years he was discharged 
in 1864, as second lieutenant. He served in the First Army Corps (later 
the Fifth), under Hooker and Warren, in the Army of the Potomac, 
sharing in most of the hardships and battles of that army. He then 
returned to Watertown and purchased a planing mill which he operated 
in connection with Philander Budlong for two years, under the name of 
C. W. Sloat & Co. In 1872 he formed a partnership with Louis C. 
Greenleaf undei the firm name of Sloat & Greenleaf, and has since been 
engaged with him in the lumber and milling business. The Sloat & 
Greenleaf Lumber Company, of which Mr. Sloat is president, was incor- 
porated in 1893. He served on the first board of trustees of the Water- 
town Manufacturers' Aid Association and is a trustee of the Jefiferson 
County Orphan Asylum. As a citizen Mr. Sloat has received frequent 
proofs of the regard in which he is held by his townsmen, having been 
elected one of the supervisors from the fourth ward 011 the county board, 
in which capacity he served two terms. For two years he was a member 
of the board of aldermen, for a time was connected with the board of 
education, and is novi' a member of the board of public works. He is a 
member of Watertown Lodge, No. 49, F. and A. M., and of Joe Spratt 
Post, No. 323, G. A. R., of which latter organization he is past com- 
mander. He also belongs to the Lincoln League, a political organization 
whose principles are Republican. 

Mr. Sloat married, in 1868, Ada L. Budlong, of Clinton, N^w York, 
and they ha^■e three children: Elizabeth H., who is the wife of Dr. 
Charles E. Pierce of Watertown (a sketch of whom appears elsewhere 
in this work) and has one child, Gerald S. : Wallace, who married Ruby 
Fisher and resides with his father; and Helen M., who is now at school. 

Mrs. Sloat is a daughter of Philander and Amelia (Gallup) Bud- 
long, both natives of Oneida county, of French and Connecticut nativity. 



402 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

The former spent his last years in the home of Mr. Sloat. He and his 
wife were the parents of four children: Ada L., mentioned above as 
the wife of Charles W. Sloat; Frank D., an Episcopal clergyman, resi- 
dent of Fairmuunt, Minnesota; Willis A., who lives in Camden, New 
York ; and Belle, who resides in Oneida, New York. It is with the last 
named daughter that Mrs. Budlong, who is now a widow, makes her 
home. Mr. Budlong died at the age of seventy, leaving liehind him 
the memory of a good man and a respected citizen. 

JOHN H. COPP, M. D. Among the popular and respected physi- 
cians of Jefferson county, New York, Dr. John H. Copp, of Natural 
Bridge, occupies an honorable place. He is a grandson of Thomas Copp. 
who was born in 1766, in London, England, and came to this country 
on a British man-of-war. He settled near New London, Connecticut, 
where he engaged for a time in farming, but later came to Mexico, 
New York, lieing one of the first settlers of that locality. There he 
spent the remainder of his life, and was a man much respected by his 
neighbors. Politically he was a Whig. He married Anna Adams, a 
cousin of John Adams, second president of the United States, and 
of the children born t(i them three arrived at maturity. Both ]\Ir. and 
Mrs. Copp were remarkaljle for longevity, the former haxing died in 
1855, at the age of eighty-nine, and the latter having survived to ninety. 

Thomas Copp, son of Thomas and Anna (Adams) Copp, was born 
in W'hitesboro, Oneida county. New York, in 1807. Later his parents 
removed to Connecticut, where they resided for a short time, and upon 
their return to New York state they took up their residence in the town 
of Mexico. The common schools adjacent to his home afforded Thomas 
Copp an excellent education, and he made agriculture the business of 
bis life. He was the owner of a fine farm in Mexico, which he cultivated 
according to the best methods and made extremely profitable. He mar- 
ried Ann Springer, who was born in 18 19, in the Mohawk Valley, one 
of the eight children of Charles Springer, who was born in Sweden 
in 1775. He emigrated to the United States while a child. He engaged 
in agricultural pursuits in the Mohawk Valley, finally settling in 1823 
in Richland, Oswego county. New ^'ork, where he died at the age of 
seventy-five years. Mr. and Mrs. Copp were the ^parents of four chil- 
dren, of whom the only one living is John H. Copp. M. D., mentioned 
at length hereinafter. Mr. Copp spent his last years in the town of 
Oswego on a small farm, and his death occurred in the sixty-eighth year 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. i03 

of his age. He left behind him the memory of a well spent life. Mr. 
Copp was married twice ; his first wife, mother of Dr. John H. Copp, 
died in the year 1867, aged forty-eight years. 

Dr. John H. Copp, son of Thomas and Ann (Springer) Copp, was 
born October 19, 1841, in Mexico, New York. He received his pri- 
mary education in the common schools, afterward attending Mexico 
7\cademy. Choosing the practice of medicine for his life-work, he 
entered the ^Metropolitan ^Medical College of New York city, from 
which he graduated in 1863 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. 
He at once began practice in Natural Bridge. New York, but in the 
stirring events of the great struggle between the North and South 
he felt called upon to abandon his profession for the time being and 
enter the army. In 1864 he enlisted in the One Hundred and Eighty- 
sixth Regiment, New York Volunteers, and was honorably discharged 
from the ser\-ice on June 13, 1865. The regiment was recruited prin- 
cipally in Jefferson and Lewis counties, and was mustered into service 
September 8, 1864. It went out nine hundred and eighty strong, lost 
one hundred and thirty in battle, one hundred and twenty by disease 
and discharge, and returned with seven hundred and thirty. It was 
in the battle of Southside Railroad, October 27, 1864; formed part of 
Warren's command in his raid to Nottoway, December 10: was in 
the charge on Fort Mahone. in front of Petersburg, April 2, 1865. and 
finally joined in the pursuit and capture of General Lee. It was among 
the first to enter the rebel fortifications at Petersburg, and was highly 
complimented by its brigade and division commanders for the gallantry 
shown in its charge on Fort Mahone. It was organized at Sacketts 
Harbor for the period of one year, and was mustered out in accordance 
with orders from the War Department, June 2, 1865. 

On his return to civil life Dr. Copp resumed the practice of his 
profession, in which he has since been actively and successfully engaged. 
In 1884 he opened a fine store fully equipped for the drug business, 
and which also offers an assortment of wall-papers, paints, oils, etc., 
and this enterprise hasjnet with a large degree of prosperity. In 1885 
he built a fine structure which includes his store and a large hall now 
occupied by the Natural Bridge Grange. For many years he has held 
the office of notar}' public. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, 
affiliating with Lodge No. 158. of Carthage, New York. Politically he 
is a Democrat. 

Dr. Copp married in 1867, Zelia Hewett, daughter of Isaac and 



404 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Nancy (Earl) Hewett, who were the parents of fifteen children, two of 
whom are now living, namely: Mary Ann. who married T. Bnck, of 
Carthage. New York ; and George, who is a physician of West Carthage. 
Isaac Hewett \Nas a farmer, and died at the age of eighty years; his 
wife, prior to her marriage with him. was the wife of Jael Mix, to 
whom she bore five children, one of whom is living at the present time 

Henry Mix, of Antwerp, New York. Mrs. Hewett died in the year 

1903, at the ad\-anced age of ninety-seven years. Dr. and Mrs. Copp 
were the parents of two children: llona, horn May 30. 1871. who be- 
came the wife of E. B. Crowner, of Watertown, New York; and Guy 
E.. born in Carthage. February 15. 1875. who is a farmer on the old 
homestead in Denmark. Mrs. Copp died in 1875, and Dr. Copp subse- 
quently married Charlotte Boyce, a native of Sterlingbush. Both Dr. 
and Mrs. Copp are very popular socially, and their home is the centre 
of a large circle of warm friends. 

HOWARD S. FOLGER. Among the y<..ung representative busi- 
ness men who fill positions of great responsibility in Jefferson county, 
New York, should be mentioned the name of Howard S. Folger. general 
manager of the Thousand Island Steamboat Company, and also the St. 
Lawrence River Steamboat Company, with offices at Clayton. New 
York. He was born in Kingston, Ontario, February 10, 1867. He is 
tlie son of Hein-y F'olger. who is tlie president of the above-mentioned 
comjianies. 

The Folgers trace their ancestry through a long line of seafaring 
men who have held positions of trust and responsibility for o\er a cen- 
tury. They are found in the vicinity of Cape Cod and Massachusetts Bay 
as early as 1775. where their operations were conducted up to 1835. For 
nearly three-quarters of a century they have been connected with tlie 
interests of Jefferson county. New York. 

Henry Folger (father) was born in Cape \'incent. New York, and 
when a young man went to Kingston, Ontario, where he has since taken 
;i very active and prominent part in business affairs. Here he conducts a 
banking business, is largely interested in real estate, the street railroad, 
electric light plant, gas company, in mining near Port Arthur, and a 
large number of other business enterprises. In the early 7o"s he became 
interested in the steamboat traffic of the Great Lakes, and with his 
brother in 1873 purchased the steamers "Pierrepont." "Watertown" and 
"Maud,"' which were in use on the ferry line between Kingston and Cape 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 4(15 

Vincent, between Kingston and \\'o!fe and Garden Islands, and also on 
the line from Kingston to Gananoque, these three lines known as the St. 
Lawrence River Steamboat Company. These were purchased from 
Kinghorn & Hinckley, who organized a company, putting the "Pierre- 
pont" on the line, and later the "W'atertown," Captain Hinckley still 
retainiiig an interest. Then the steamers "Maud"' and "Geneva" were 
put on the Kingston-Cape Vincent route, and for more than a quarter of 
a century the "Maud" was on the line, and so carefully and skillfully has 
she been handled that she is known as the "Reliable." The first boat to 
run regularly between Cape Vincent and Clayton was the "Wren," which 
commenced her daily trips in 1868. In 1870 the "Midge" took her place, 
adding a daily trip from Clayton to Gananoque. In 1873 the "J. H. Kelley" 
took the route from Cape Vincent to Alexandria Bay, making two round 
trips daily, and in 1S75 ^'i^ ^^'''s succeeded by the propellor "T. S. Fax- 
ton." About i87_' the Folger Brothers purchased the steamers "John F. 
Maynard" and the "John Thorn." these two boats being the nucleus of 
the line between Cape Vincent, Clayton and Alexandria Bay, known as 
the Thousand Island Steamboat Company. Cape Vincent was the ter- 
minal point at this time for all the tourists visiting the Thousand Islands, 
but later the terminal point became Clayton, where the offices were 
moved. As th.e region has developed they have built docks and estab- 
lished stations at various points along the river, purchased and built boats 
as occasion demanded, and have in e\ery way kept abreast of the times. 
The season of the Folger lines begins at the opening of na\'igation 
on the St. Lawrence river. The fleet includes the well-known palace 
steamers "St. Lawrence," "America" and "New York;" the commodious 
observation steamers "The Islander" and "New Island Wanderer," and 
a beautiful steel yacht, "Ramona." These boats run at convenient inter- 
vals, connecting with all trains on the New York Central Railroad con- 
verging at Clayton, New York, and in addition to conveying passengers 
to the various stations between Clayton and Alexandria Bay, over which 
route they carr}- all the mail, express and baggage, they also run to 
Gananoque and Kingston, at which points they connect with the Grand 
Trunk and Canadian Pacific railroads, and at the latter point with Cape 
Vincent. In addition to these trips a large number are especially 
arranged for sight-seeing, which are accompanied by guides who point 
out and explain all points of interest on these famous tours of the islands. 
These boats not only cover the route during the day, but also in the even- 
ing, with a searchlight, in order that summer visitors have ample oppor- 



4(16 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

tunity to see a large number of the islands. The steel yacht "Ramona" 
was especially designed and built to pass through the intricate channels 
and among the smaller islands where the larger steamers cannot navigate. 
Not only is their regular business of large proportions, but they also have 
an enormous excursion business amounting to hundreds of thousands of 
persons each year, tickets being sold by the New York Central and other 
roads all over the country on this line of boats. In all the years that 
Howard S. Folger has managed this enormous business, so careful has 
been his instructions to the men having the different boats in charge that 
not a casualty of any kind has ever occurred. This is certainly a record 
of which any man may well be proud. 

Howard S. Folger was reared and educated in Kingston, Ontario, 
liaving been a student in Queens College, from which he was graduated 
in 1889 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then entered Columbia 
College in New York city, from which he was graduated after a two 
years' course with high honors and with the degree of Bachelor of Laws 
in the soring of 1891, when he assumed his present position. 

Mr. Folger married, January 21, 1892, Mary Eloise Price, born in 
Kingston. Ontario, daughter ot Judge C. V. Price, the noted jurist of 
that city, who for nearly a quarter of a century has occupied a place of 
prominence upon the bench. Mrs. Folger is the eldest of two children, 
the other being Ida M. ]\lr. and Mrs. Folger are the parents of three 
children, as follows: Howard Price, Gwendolyn Marguerite and Doris 
Eloise. 

ALJ^ION H. HOUGHTON, a leading citizen of Alexandria, New 
York, where he is an active and influential factor in religious and educa- 
tional affairs, also in every enterprise \\hich benefits the community or its 
people, is a native of the town, born June 10, 1849, °^'^ the farm which 
he now owns. 

The family trace their ancestry to Samuel B. Houghton, iiorn in 
1760, and Peter Houghton, born in 1784. Samuel Houghton (great- 
grandfather) was the father of five children : Roswell. Abiathia, Henry, 
Elizabeth, Elvira. Roswell Houghton (grandfather) was born in 1784. 
He was a resident of Fairlee, Vermont, from whence he came to Water- 
town, New Yfirk, by means of an ox team. Here he purchased quite a 
large tract of land about two miles up the river, which he cleared off and 
cultivated, and lie was recognized as one of the successful farmers of that 
section. He married Percv Parker, who was born in Vermont, January 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 407 

4. 1786, and ten children were Ii^rn to them, namely: All)ey, born in 
1808; James, in 1810: Elvira, in 1812; Hamilton, in 1816; Sarah, in 
1818: Joseph, January 24, 1820, mentioned hereinafter: Hiram, in 1822; 
Harrison, in 1824: ;Martha, in 1830, and Mary, in 1833. Roswell 
Houghton died in 1868, survived by his wife, who passed away January 
29, 1875, aged ninety-one years. 

Joseph Houghton (father) was born in Fairlee, Orange county, Ver- 
mont, January'^24, 1820. He was reared and attended the common 
schools of that neighborhood until he attained the age of eleven years, 
when his parents removed to Watertown, New York, and two years 
later located in the town of Orleans, same state. About the year 1835 
Joseph Houghton with his father settled in Alexandria, which was then 
i:T a primitive state, there being but few roads in the town. Here his 
father took up a section of land consisting of about four huntlred and 
fifty acres, and this he assisted in cultivating and improving to a high 
stace of perfection, and after his father's death resided thereon for the 
remainder of bis life. On Jan.uary i, 1846, Mr. Houghton was married 
to Jane Clark, born Ma}' 26, 1828, daughter of Daniel Clark, a native of 
Thetford, Orange county, Vermont. Mr. Clark was the father of seven 
children, five of whom are living at the present time ( 1904) : Sarah, wife 
of Stephen Foster, of Lewis county. New York ; Jane, widow of Joseph 
Houghton, and mother of Almon H. Houghton ; Esther, wife of Henry 
Humbert, of Lewis county. New York; Emily, wife of a Mr. Wilson, of 
Philadelphia, New York, and Dolly, who resides in Oswego county. 
New York. 

Nine childien were born to Joseph and Jane (Clark) Houghton, 
five of who attained adult age, namely, Martha, born in 1847, deceased; 
Almon H., mentioned hereinafter; Jennett S., born April 14, 1855, died 

August 29, ; Albert D., born August, 1863, reared in Alexandria 

Bay and educated in its common schools. He is a marine engineer by 
profession, and is at present engaged in river business. For many years 
he served as an engineer on the steamboats of the Great Lakes, and is 
well known in this connection. He has resided in the town of Alexandria 
the greater part of bis life. He married Bertha Brown. Elvia C, born 
Julv 15, 1871, became the wife of Charles N. Haas, an undertaker and 
furniture dealer of Alexandria, New York. 

Almon FL Houghton received his educational advantages in the 
common schools of Alexandria. For a number of years he assisted his 
father on the farm, and subsequently became the owner of two hundred 



408 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

acres of the original homestead tract, residing thereon until i8S6, when 
he located in Alexandria Bay. He Ijuilt a tine house near the present 
one, but later disposed of this and then built the present house. He 
engaged in mercantile business, and in addition looked after the aftairs 
of the farm, but later sold his store and now devotes his entire time to 
the management of his farm. He resides in the village. Throughout his 
life he has been a progressive and public-spirited citizen, and as an evi- 
dence of the appreciation in which he is held by his townsmen he was 
elected to the office of justice of the peace, in which capacity he served 
for a period of eleven years, when he resigned. He has been a member 
of the board of education for many years, and for the past three years 
lias ser\-ed as president of the same. When twenty-two years of age 
Mr. Houghton became a member of Alexandria Lodge No. 297, Free and 
Accepted Masons, and during his connection with tliis order, which ex- 
tends over a period of more than a cjuarter of a centurw has been one of 
its most active and exemplary members. For five years he served as wor- 
shipful master of his lodge. He is also affiliated with Theresa Chapter, 
Royal Arch Masons; Watertown Commandery, K. T., and Media Tem- 
ple of the Mystic Shrine. In all of these various bodies he has been a 
charter member. He was the first ma.ster of the court. 

]\Ir. Houghton married in 1872 Candace Raught, born in Pamelia, 
New York, daughter of Abram and Matilda (Walroth) Raught, of Or- 
leans. Abram Raught was born in St. Lawrence, New York, later went 
west and engaged in the hotel business, and his death occurred in Chi- 
cago, Illinois, in 1891. Matilda (Walroth) Raught was born in Herk- 
imer county, New York, and was the mother of four children, two of 

wliom attained years of maturity, namely, Mrs. Houghton and 

Raught, who resides near her sister. Mr. and Mrs. Houghton were the 
parents of four children, three of whom survive, namely: i. Norris A., 
who is engaged in the furniture and undertaking business in Alexandria 
Ba}- in company with his uncle, Charles N. Haas, under the firm name 
of Haas & Houghton: he married Louise Watson, daughter of Dr. and 
Flizabeth (Campbell) Watson. 2. Lillian J., who is a graduate nurse 
with headquarters in New York city. She was educated in the common 
schools of .Alexandria Bay and Ilion .\cademy. She then entered the 
training school in Syracuse, New York, and received practical training 
in the hospitals there. She then took a post-graduate course in New 
York city, where she has since been located, and met with success. She 
ranks very high in her profession. 3. Linnie M., who was educated in 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 409 

the Potsdam Normal School and Albany Business College. The children 
are abo\e the a\'erage in intelligence and. like their father, are determined 
to make a name for themselves. The family are members of the Dutch 
Reformed church, in w Inch Mr. Houghton has been deacon and treasurer 
many >ears, and Mrs. Houghton and her daughters ha\-e taught in the 
Sunda}- school. The family is highly respected in the community and 
enjoy the advantages to Ije derived from a wide circle of friends. 

GORDON CLARK BRADLEY, deceased, for half a century a 
resident of W'atertown. was a man of sterling character, and commanded 
the respect and esteem of all with whom he was brought in contact, 
either in business or social life. He was devoted to the interests of his 
family, his town, county and state and the world at large. His ancestry 
included some of the noblest of American pioneers, and he illustrated in 
his life and works the sturdy virtues that distinguished the Puritan fore- 
fathers. 

The name of Bradley is of -\nglo-Saxon origin, compounded of 
brad (broad) and lea (a field or meadow), and this was easilv and 
quickly converted to its present form. 

About the beginning of the seventeenth century ^^'illiam Bradley 
was born in the market town of Bingley. in the West Riding of York- 
shire. England. His mother died at or soon after his birth, and by a sec- 
ond marriage of his father (whose name does not appear) there were 
born a daughter and four sons — Ellen, Daniel, Joshua, Nathan and 
Stephen Their names are preserved through the fact that the elder half- 
brother sent for them and their mother (whose name was not preserved) 
after the death of the father, and they came and lived under \\'illiam's 
care until the younger ones were able to care for themselves. Daniel 
was drowned in December, 1658. No record of Joshua is found after 
1665, when he had a son born. In 1658, when Nathan was twenty years 
old and Stephen sixteen, they were residents of Gyilford, Connecticut, 
where they passed their lives and were prominent citizens. Their mother 
married again, and died in Guilford, January, 1683. 

(L) William Bradley came from England in 1643-4 and settled 
in the New Haven colony. He was married February iS. 1645, to Alice 
Prichard, probably a daughter of Roger Prichard, who was early in the 
New Haven and Connecticut colonies. Four sons and four daughters 
were born to William Bradley and wife. 

(H.) Isaac Bradley appears at Branford, Connecticut, in 1667; is 



410 GEXEALOGICAL AXD FAMILY HISTORY. 

first on l',ranl()rd records in 1674. at which time he is noticed as a •'so- 
journer at Xcw Haven," and the town granted liini a liome lot of two 
acres at Canoe brook. He removed to East Ha\-en in 1683. Tlie Ciiris- 
tian name of his wife was Elizabeth, and their children were: Isaac, 
Vi'illiam, Samuel, Daniel. Sarah and Elizabeth. 

(111.) Samuel, third son and child of Isaac and Elizabeth Bradley, 
was married January 7. 171 5, to Sarah Robinson, and their children 
\Aere: Zebulon, Isaac, Daniel, Levi, Sarah, Simeon, Azariah and Gor- 
don. 

(IV.) Zebulon, eldest child of Samuel and Elizabeth Bradley, was 
born October 6, 1715. and was married July 10, 1740, to Elizabeth Hem- 
ingway. Their children were : Abraham, Josiah, Asa, Jared, Jared (2), 
Abigail, Zebulon, Elizabeth and Elijah. 

(V.) Asa, third son and child of Zebulon and Elizabeth Bradley, 
was born May 9, 1746, and w-as married in 1768, to Amy Morris, of 
East Haven, where they lived. Her ancestral home still stands in East 
Haven, at Morris Cove. He was numbered among the heroes who gave 
their lives for their country and their fellows in the struggle for Ameri- 
can independence. He died in 1779 on board the English pri>son ship 
"Jersey," in New York harbor. One of his brothers shared this fate, 
while a third escaped death, though brought near to it, in that terrible 
means employed by an inhuman enemy to diminish the strength of those 
who defended their homes and liberties. Asa Bradley's children were : 
Amos, born September 9, 1768; Jerusha, November 22, 1771, married 
Benjamin Hutchins ; Abigail, July 31, 1773; Gurdon, November 10, 
1775; Elijah, 1777, died 1807, in Augusta, Georgia: 

(VI.) Gurdon, third son and fourth child of Asa Bradley, was born 
in East Haven, Connecticut, and settled in Fairfield, Herkimer county, 
New York, where he establi.shed a furniture factory and built up an ex- 
tensive business, having offices in Utica and Herkimer. He was upright 
in his dealings with men, by which he gained business standing and the 
respect of the world and, through unremitting toil, he developed a profit- 
able business. His last twelve years were passed in Watertown, w^here he 
died June 24, 1865. His wife, Phebe Smith, died June 17, 1854, in Fair- 
field, aged sixty-eight years. Their children were born as follows: Eliza 
Ann, April 4, 1808: Amos A., Alarch 4, j8io: Pauline, June 30, i8i2-, 
Gurdon C, July 19, 1814: Emily, June 4, 1816: Willett, July 17, 1818; 
Newton. July 17, 1821 : Catherine Phebe, September, 1823, and Amy 
Tanc, December 27. 1826. The only male descendants of (jurdon Brad- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 411 

ley bearing the name are Gurdon Bradley, of San Francisco, California, 
and his ten-year-old son. 

(VII.) Gordon Clark Bradley, second son and fourth child of 
Gurdon and Phebe (Smith) Bradley, was born July 19, 1814, in Fair- 
field, this state, where he was reared and received a practical education. 
His business career began in his father's office at Utica. In 1840 he came 
to Watertown and purchased twenty acres of land, to which he added 
from time to time, until his possessions included one hundred and twenty 
acres. This he cultivated and improved until his farm was one of the 
finest in the city limits. He built a number of commodious buildings 
thereon, including a handsome residence in which his widow now resides, 
and the remainder of his life was devoted to agricultural pursuits. In 
aadition to this he imported Ayrshire cattle very extensively, which he 
exhibited at various fairs and associations and which usually took the 
prizes oiifered for that breed. Mr. Bradley took an active interest in 
Agricultural Associations, and was instrumental in the formation of 
several. He was also active in local affairs, serving in the capacity of 
supervisor and alderman, having been elected to those offices on the Dem- 
ocratic ticket. He held membership in Trinity Episcopal Church, and 
for many years served as vestr3'man of the same. He passed away at his 
heme in Watertown, May 29, 1890, and his departure was mourned by a 
large circle of friends and acquaintances. 

Mr. Bradley was twice married. In 1876 he married for his second 
wile Charlotte F. Page, who was born in Weathersfield Springs, Wyo- 
ming county,' New York, daughter of William and Ruth (Mead) Page. 
Mrs. Bradley is the sole survivor of four children. William Page was 
born August 19. 1784, near Greenwich, Connecticut, and was a shoe- 
maker by trade, which occupation he followed in New York city during 
the early years of his life. Later he removed to Wyoming county. New 
York, where he purchased a farm, and the remainder of his life was de- 
voted to its cultivation. He died November 15, 1871. at tlie age of eighty- 
seven years. His wife, Ruth (Mead) Page, was born March 2, 1785, in 
Greenwich, Connecticut, a daughter of Jonathan and Elizabeth (Brown) 
Mead. Jonathan Mead went to Schroon Lake, New York, as a pioneer, and 
later accompanied the Doolittle family to the western portion of the state, 
settling on the Holland Lanc^ Purchase, where he resided up to the time of 
his death at the age of over eighty years. Elizabeth Brown was a de- 
scendant of a French ancestry who came to America in order to escape the 
religious persecutions of their own country. The parents of Mrs. Bradley 



412 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

were consistent nieniljers of the Episcopal church. ;\lrs. Page passed 
away March to, 1863, at the age of seventy-eight }ears. 

At one time during the revolutionary war the American and British 
armies were encamped on opposite sides of the liome of Jotham ]\Iead, 
in. the town of Greenwich, Connecticut. The ceiling of the principal 
room of liis house was frequently pierced by bayonets in hands of sol- 
diers of either army, and has been left undisturbed to the present time, 
as a souvenir of that desperate struggle. His li\-e stock and other mov- 
able articles were not safe at any time, and he succeeded in keeping a cow 
for tile use of his family only by making and concealing a stable under 
ground. Truh . those were "the times that tried men's souls." whether 
soldier or ci\'ilian. 

ARTHUR. This name was brought from Lewis county to the town 
of Champion, and was brought to the "Black River Country" from Mas- 
sachusetts. Its representatives in Jefferson county have been recognized 
as substantial and honorable business men, and now fill a creditable 
position in the social, political and material affairs of their respective 
localities. They bear in their veins the Ijlood of several worthy Revolu- 
tionary soldiers. 

(I.) Richard Arthur is shown in the records to have been active 
and useful in the prosecution of the struggle for American independence. 
He was a private in Captain Ralph Stoddard's Company, Eighth Regi- 
ment of Connecticut Militia, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Oliver 
Smith, in iz/fi. In 177S he was a private in Captain Thomas Wheeler's 
company. Colonel Samuel Chapman's regiment, Connecticut Militia, and 
served from August 3, 1778, to September 12, of the same year. He 
was born in 1745. in Massachusetts, and died in the same state in 
1 79 1, in the neighborhood of forty-six years of age. From the fact that 
Captain Ralph Stoddard lived in Grcton, Connecticut, it is inferred that 
Mr. Arthur went some distance from home to enlist. It is quite possible 
that he then lived in Connecticut, as he was thirty-one years old at 
the time of his first enlistment. 

(II.) Russell Arthur, son of Richard, was born May 15, 1783, in 
Piitsfield, Massachusetts, and came to northern New York as a young 
man, and here married Elizalieth, tlaughter of Lester Wadley. The 
last-named was a son (jf Joseph Wadley, who was born in 1740, in New 
Hampshire, ser\ed as captain in the Re\'olutionary war, and died in 
1824. in the town of Rodman, this county. The "History of Exeter, 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 413 

New Hampshire," gives the names of several Wadleighs who served in 
the Revolution and war of 1812. In 1681 Robert Wadleigh was an 
inhabitant and commissioner, to whom and others was granted two 
hundred acres of land on Lamprey river, in the town of Exeter. He 
was one of the provincial councillors at Exeter in 1684. His son, Joseph 
Wadleigh, born April 7, 171 1, married (January 5. 1737-8) Ann Swaine. 
Joseph Wadleigh was a land-owner and farmer, and was a deacon in and 
a prominent member of the Congregational church. He died at Great 
Hill, in Brentwood, New Hampshire, January 23, 1792. His children 
were: Hannah, born August i, 1739; Sarah, November 29, 1741 ; 
Joseph, November 3, 1743; Anna, January 17, 1745-6; and Rachel, 
February 3, 1747. Dole Wadley, son of the last-above-named Joseph 
and Elizabeth Dole, wife of the latter, born October 19, 1782, at Great 
Hill, in Brentwood, New Hampshire, is spoken of as the only one to 
change the spelling of the name to Wadley. He was a captain in the 
war of 1812, and died June 6, 1826, in Nashua, New Hampshire. 
Thete was a Thomas Wadleigh, of Hempstead, New Hampshire, who 
was out in the French and Indian war, and settled in Sutton, New 
Hampshire. He had a son Joseph, born in 1753, who married Betty 
Jngalls, had a large family, and mo\'ed to New York. There is record 
in Exeter of Henry Wadleigh, who married (December 3, 1693) Eliza- 
beth Ladd. Their children were : Sarah, Abigail, Joseph, Martha and 
Benjamin. It is quite possible that the Joseph last mentioned was the 
father of Captain Joseph Wadley, who died in Rodman in 1824. 

Russell Arthur's wife, Elizabeth Wadley, was born in May, 1787, 
and came with her parents to Watertown among the earliest pioneers. 

(III.) John Wadley Arthur, son of Russell Arthur, was born 
April 20, 1819, in Martinsburg^ Lewis county. New York, which shows 
that his parents were early residents of that region. He grew up in 
Lewis county, and lived there until March, 1857, when he purchased 
one hundred and twenty-two acres of land in Champion, and moved 
upon it. This farm is now occupied by his son, and lies in the valley of 
Black river, on what is known as Martin street, the direct road from 
A\'est Carthage to Great Bend. John W. Arthur continued to live upon 
and till this farm until the spring of 1885, when he rented it and moved 
to the city of Watertown, where he died on June 10 of that year. Both 
he and his wife were communicants of the Methodist Church of Carth- 
age, and Mr. Arthur was a member of Carthage Grange. He was a 
steadfast Republican in political principle, but never accepted any office. 



414 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

jolin W. Arthur was married February i6, 1842. to Jane Ann 
Smith, who was born in Montgomery county, this state, January 5, 
18 t6, and now resides on the Champion homestead, in her eighty-ninth 
year. She is a daughter of Theophihis and Hannah (Ahen) Smith, the 
former a native of Worcester, Massacluisetts, and the latter of Hudson, 
New York. Hannah Allen was a daughter of Daniel Allen, a Revolu- 
tionary soldier, who was born April 15, 1757, in Sandwich, Massachvi- 
setts. and died February 3, 181 1, in Johnstown, New York. He was 
one of the defenders of Concord against the British soldiers, April 19, 
177^. Theophihis Smith was a son of Moses Smith, who was born 
October 15, 1756, in Rowley, Essex county, Massachusetts, and died 
June 19, 1846, at Barre, Orleans county, this state, in his ninetieth year. 
He was a private on the Lexington Alarm roll of Captain Edward Pay- 
son's regiment, credited to the town of Rowley. In the return of Lieu- 
tenant Moses Bradstreet's detachment, dated November 15, 1775, he is 
credited with fourteen days' service in the defence of Gloucester Har- 
bor. In December following he again rendered three days" service in 
same defence. He is described in the list of men enrolled from Essex 
county in the Continental Army, as follows: "Age, 23 years; stature, 
5 ft., 10 in.: complexion, light: belonging to Rowley." He entered 
service July 28, 1799, in Captain Blanchard's company, and was dis- 
charged April 28. 1780. He arrived at Springfield, July 10. 1780, 
marched to canip the following day for six months' service, under com- 
mand of Captain George Webb, and was discharged January 10, 1781. 
He lost his left hand and received a wound in the thigh at the battle of 
Bennington. He was brought up in Boston, where he was apprenticed 
to a shoemaker. His wife's name was Lucy. 

The children of John W. Arthur are noted, as follows: Helen S.. 
married John I. Woolworth, of Champion; died in Watertown, March, 
1903. aged fifty-nine years. Mary J., married Elijah M. Woolworth, 
of Champion, now li\ing in West Carthage, Herbert M.. the immediate 
subject of this sketch. Hiram Smith, residing in Watertown. 

(IV.) Herbert Melville Arthur, eldest son and third child of John 
W. and Jane Ann (Smith) Arthur, was born April 27, 1849, in Low- 
\-ille, Lewis count}-. New York, and was near the close of his eighth 
year when his parents moved to Champion, in this county. He attended 
the district schools until he was eighteen years old, utilizing vacation 
periods and the summers of the later years as an assistant to his father 
and brothers in the labors and duties of the farm. After spending four 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. -ilo 

seasons as a farm laborer he became associated with his brother-in-law, 
John I. Woolworth, in butchering and supplying meat to farmers, chiefly 
in his home town. He was next emplo}'ed two years by Mr. Woolworth 
to assist him in pressing hay for the market, or for farmers of the 
vicinity. He began his career as an independent farmer upon rented 
lands, and in March, 1888. purchased the homestead from his father's 
heirs, and has since continued to reside upon and till it. His dairy 
includes about twenty choice cows, and he is regarded as an intelligent 
and successful farmer. By industrious application and prudent man- 
agement he has justified this reputation, and occupies an influential 
position in the town and county because of his upright and straight- 
forward methods. He is not only a leading farmer, but is respected and 
honored in the social and political affairs of his home county. 

Mr. Arthur has served two terms as master of the Great Bend 
Grange, was nine years commissioner of highways of the town of Cham- 
pion, and is now (1904) serving his fourth consecutive term as super- 
visor of the town. He is respected and recognized as an influential 
member of the county board, and is influential in the councils of the 
Republican party, to whose principles he gives unswerving allegiance 
and earnest support. He attends the Congregational Church of West 
Carthage,, with his family. 

Mr. Arthur was married March 2, 1873, to Miss Alphredien, 
daughter of James and Nancy (Tripp) Gouldthrite. natives respectively 
of Rutland and Champion, and representatives of pioneer families of 
those towns. Mrs. Arthur was born September 7, 1852, in Champion. 
Two of the four sons of Mr. and Mrs. H. M. Arthur are hving, and are 
valuable assistants of their father on the home farm. Hiram Dwight, 
the first, died when a baby. Herbert Benton, second, is a graduate of 
the Carthage high school and now in the class of 1905 in Rochester 
University, and Joseph Floyd, fourth child, are living. John Wool- 
worth, the third, died at the age of sixteen }ears. 

ROBERT HITCHCOCIv, whose in\-entive genius made his name 
well known not only in New York, but throughout the entire country, 
v.as born on Wolf Island on the 20th of October, 1832, and died April 
19, 1900, at the age of sixty-seven years. His father, Archibald Hitch- 
cock, was a native of England and on emigrating to America settled on 
Wolf's Island on the Canadian side of the St. Lawrence river. He was 
one of the early residents of that part of the country and became a lum- 



416 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

bernian of note. He wedded Mary Hinkley, who was born, reared and 
educated in Oneida county, New York, and died at the advanced age of 
eighty years. In the family were four sons : Hiram and John, who have 
passed away; Oliver, who is living in Muskegon, Michigan; and Robert. 
Robert Hitchcock spent his early boyhood days in the home in which 
he was born, an old stone house which is pointed out to tourists as the 
boats ply the St. Lawrence river. There he continued until sixteen years 
of age, when he entered upon his business career. Necessity, which often 
proves the avenue to great usefulness and success, was the spur of his 
ambition. Making his way to Watertown, he sought employment and, 
believing that the jew^eler's trade would prove a congenial occupation, 
entered upon an apprenticeship in the store of W. H. Sigourney, where 
his adaptability and capacity soon won him promotion and after two 
years he became a partner in the enterprise. Subsequently by the pur- 
chase of Mr. Sigourney's interest he became sole proprietor, conducting 
the store alone until 1859. when Hon. Roswell P. Flower, later governor 
of New York, was admitted to an interest in the business. This relation 
was maintained for four years, on the expiration of w-hich period Mr. 
Hitchcock remo\-ed to Boston. There he became associated with E. 
Howard in the manufacture of the Howard watch and subsequently he 
went to Bristol, Connecticut, where he was placed in charge of the erec- 
tion and equipment of a building to be used in the manufacture of fine 
machinery and clock works. When the factory was completed Mr. Hitch- 
cock became a partner in the enterprise in connection with George A. 
Jones, of New York, under the finn name of Jones & Hitchcock, manu- 
facturers of clock works, lamps and electrical machinery. His labors in 
tliis direction prompted him to study and experiment, that eventually led 
to tlip invention of the famous Hitchcock lamp. He perfected this during 
his residence in Bristol and at once placed it on the market. Soon it 
sprang into general favor and became a marketable commodity through- 
out the civilized world. 

In 1S72 Mr. Hitchcock returned to \\'atertown, where he organized 
the Hitchcock Lamp Company, which was incorporated and capitalized 
for one hundred thousand dollars. Governor Flower becoming the prin- 
cipal stockholder. The building now occupied by the Ne^v York Air 
Brake Company w-as erected under the supervision of Mr. Hitchcock and 
he also superintended the building of special machinery which was made 
in New England. In 1895 ^be company was re-incorporated under the 
name of the Jefferson Brass Works, with Governor Flower as president 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 417 

and John B. laylor as secretary and treasurer. jNlr. Hitchcock with- 
drew four years later and continued the manufacture of his lamp in Con- 
necticut. In recent }ears he made many improvements, bringing his 
invention to the highest degree of perfection, and it now has a world- 
wide reputation, being sold in almost every civilized country on the face 
of the globe. ' He possessed not only inventive genius, but also business 
capacity which enabled him to turn the labors of his inventive mind into 
profit on the markets of the world. The Hitchcock lamp is now being 
manufactured Ijy the New Haven Clock Company of New Haven, Con- 
necticut, Mrs. Hitchcock still retainmg her interest in the business. 

Robert Hitchcock v/as a Republican in his political affiliation, and 
for many years he was connected with the Masonic fraternity in Water- 
town. He advanced to high rank in the order, taking the degrees of 
both the chapter and the commandery. He attended the Presbyterian 
church and his active co-operation was gi\en to many measures for the 
material, intellectual and moral advancement of his city. 

Robert Hitchcock was married May 15, 1855, to Miss Eveline Hunt- 
ington, who was born in Watertown, New York, in 1835, a daughter 
of Ambrose W. Huntington, whose birth occurred in Hartford, Con- 
necticut, in 1805. Her grandfather, William A. Huntington, was born 
in Tolland, Connecticut, in 1758, and came to Jefferson county. New 
York, as a pioneer settler, in January, 1804. He purchased two hundred 
acres of land, and afterward the village of Huntingtonville was estab- 
lished and naaned in his honor. He cleared his land which, when it came 
into his possession, was in the midst of an unbroken wilderness and, 
developing a five property, he made it his liome throughout his remaining 
days, his death occurring when seventy-two years of age. His wife 
passed away at the age of sixty-five years. Their children were William, 
Hiram, Dyer, Ambrose, Cyrus, Lathrop, Priscinda and Lucia. In April, 
1776, he entered the Revolutionary army and served until November of 
that year at New York. In April, 1777, he enlisted for three years, 
which he served out, spending the last winter at Valley Forge. 

Ambrose Huntington, father of Mrs. Hitchcock, was reared in the 
town named in honor of his father and like his father he rendered his 
country military service in the war of 18 12, and in the days of peace 
followed the occupation of farming. He reached the age of seventy-two 
years, while his wife attained the very advanced age of one hundred and 
one years. Both were members of the Presbyterian church. Her maiden 
name was Prucience Tyler and her birth occurred in Oneida county, New 



418 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

York. She was one of a family of eight children, namely: Rufus, 
Alanson, Svlvanus and Sylvester (twins), William, Rebecca, Polly and 
Prudence. Mr. and Mrs. Ambrose Huntington were the parents of 
two children. The elder, Horace Huntington, spent his life in Water- 
town and in New York city, following the profession of bookkeeping 
throughout his business career. He died in 1897. 

To i\Ir. and Mrs. Hitchcock were born three children : Julia, who 
died at the age of twenty-three years; Lizzie, who died at the age of 
twenty-six years: and Anna H., who was married September 18, 1892, 
to Philip H. \\"iuchester, a civil engineer, and resides in Watertown. 
Mr. Hitchcock was a most de>'oted husband and father, regarding no 
personal sacrifice on his part too great or any labor too strenuous that 
would promote the happiness and welfare of his wife and children. His 
life motto was "Home, first, last and always." He also held friendship 
inviolable and v.as a most pleasant and congenial companion, because of 
his fine conversational powers and the sterling worth of his character. 

JAMES HENRY DECKER was born' in Troy, New York, Octo- 
ber iS, 1832, and died in Watertown, New York, October 16, 1867. 
His parents were James and Azubah A. Decker. 

James Decker (father) was born in 1808, and was a jeweler con- 
ducting a large wholesale and retail establishment in Troy, New York, 
for a number of years. He afterward removed to Denmark, Lewis 
county, and thence to Watertown about the beginning of the civil war. 
He invested in western real estate, owning a quarter section in the pres- 
ent city of ]\Iaquoketa, Jackson county, Iowa, where he built an exten- 
sive hotel and other buildings. Subsequently he returned to Water- 
town and purchased the home at No. 48 Arsenal street, which is now 
occupied by Mrs. James H. Decker. His attention was also given to 
the supervision of his invested interests in the west and in Lewis county, 
New York. He was recognized as a successful business man, so placing 
his investments that they brought a good financial return. His death 
occurred in 1881, aged seventy-three years. His wife, Mrs. Azubah A. 
Decker, nee Betts, was born in Lansingburg, Ncta? York, in 1810, and 
died in 189 1, when about eighty years of age, at Maquoketa, Iowa. 
Both Mr. and Mrs. Decker were members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, and took an active part in its work. Mr. Decker was a stanch 
Republican. Their family numbered four children : Emily Antoinette, 
wife of H. G. P. Spencer: James H., mentioned hereinafter: Victoria 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 419 

Eugenia, wife of Edwin R. ^^'oley, of Chicago ; and Leonard Wesley, 
who died in 1900, at Maquotceta, Iowa. 

James H. Decker spent the greater part of his boyhood days in 
Troy and Denmari<. New YorI<. He pursued his education in the 
common schools, and for some time thereafter was engaged in farming, 
making his home in Denmark. A lover of fine horses, he became the 
owner of many animals of great worth. He owned seven that were 
especially valuable, and for one of these he refused an offer of two 
thousand dollars, eventually obtaining a much higher price. His busi- 
ness efforts were capably conducted, and his sound judgment brought 
to him prosperity. 

James H. Decker was married September 8. 1852. to Miss Caroline 
A. Reynolds, who was born in Valatia, Columbia county. New York. 
Her father. Raymond Reynolds, was born in the same county in 1802. 
a son of Nathaniel Reynolds, whose father was born in Manchester, 
England. Raymond Reynolds was a master mechanic, long in the em- 
ploy of Nathan Wild's cotton mills at Valatia. He died at Valatia, in 
1857, at the age of fiftj'-five years. He was a firm adherent of Repub- 
lican principles, and a liberal, religious and upright man. His wife, 
who bore the maiden name of Christine Phillips, was born in Columbia 
county in 1809. and died in the first week of November, 1896, at the 
age of eighty-seven years. She held membership in the Presbyterian 
church. By her marriage she had fi\e children, three of whom attained 
years of maturity, but only two are now living — Caroline, widow of 
James H. Decker, and Adelaide, the wife of Dr. T. R. Waugh, a lead- 
ing and highly respected medical practitioner of St. Albans, Vermont. 
The eldest child, Celeste, was the wife of Charles Duane Squire, who 
raised a company and commanded it in the Civil war under General 
Bradley Winslow. 

Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Decker: i. James R., 
born January 15, 1S57, in Watertown. He pursued his early education 
in the common schools, afterward attending the high school, and later 
St. Michael's College at Toronto. Subsequently he took up the study 
of medicine, attending lectures two years in New York, but failing 
health forced him to abandon further study. He married Miss Flora 
Smith, who was born in Salem, Massachusetts, and they had two chil- 
dren: James Henry, and Marguerite. The former, educated at Purdue 
University, Lafayette, Lidiana. is now a mechanical engineer, occupy- 
ing a position with the New York Central Railroad Company at Lima. 



420 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Ohio. The latter is living with her aunt. Mrs. Dr. Waugh, in St. 
Albans. Vermont. 2. Anna C the only daughter, is now the wife 
of Charles F. Smith, a native of Jefferson county. Xew York, and they 
have one son. Charles Palmer, who was educated in St. John's Military 
School near Syracuse. New York. INIr. and Mrs. Smith reside at 
Lima, Ohio. Air. Decker died October 3, iSSA. at the age of twenty- 
nine years. Mrs. Decker resides in her beautiful home on Arsenal 
street, one of the finest residential districts of Watertown. the house 
being located nearly opposite the court house. 

GEORGE A. DEVENDORF. an esteemed resident of Depauville, 
New York, for the past eight years has been living in retirement from 
active pursuits as his untiring and well-directed business efforts in for- 
mer veais brought to him a competence sufficient to supply him with 
the comforts of life. The rest is well-merited, for his business career 
was characterized by great energy and unceasing industry. He was 
born in Mindon, Montgomery county. New York, May 22, 1835. 

AJM-aham G. Devendorf, father of George A. Devendorf, was also 
born in Montgomery county. New York, a son of George and Cath- 
erme Devendorf. native of the same county, who were the parents of 
eight children, all of whom are now deceased. George Devendorf was 
a farmer and inn-keeper in the Mohawk Valley. His death, which 
occurred in the fifty-third year of his age, was caused by a runaway 
team. His wife passed away in 184 1. at the age of seventy-two years. 
Abraham G. Devendorf (father) was reared and educated in Mont- 
gomery county, and he began business as a farmer, his spare time being 
put in on the Mohawk Canal, as was the case with many farmers along 
the "Ditch." In 1837 he located near Depauville, New York, purchased 
the Cowen farm, wliicli consisted oi one hundred and fiftv acres, to 
which he subsequently added sixty-five acres, and this tract of land was 
devoted to general farming and dairying purposes. He was one of 
the first dairymen in this section of the state. He served on the board 
of assessors in tlie town for eight years, and among the members of 
that body at that time was Abner Smith. Simon G. Johnson, and \Vill- 
iam Lingenfelter (sketches elsewhere), who are all still living, aged 
over eighty-five years each. He w^as united in marriage to Catherine 
Timmermann, who was l^orn in Montgomery county. New York. De- 
cember 2. 1807. a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Sanders) Tim- 
mermann. The following named children were born of this union : 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 421 

Elmira, wife of John Howell, of Depauville, New York; George A., 
mentioned at length hereinafter; Eugene, died in 1877; Mary Jan*, 
nho died at the age of seven years; Da\id, a resident of Depauville; 
and Clark, a citizen of Watertown. Abraham G. Devendorf died at 
the age of seventy-three years, Februar}- 5, 1882, and his wife passed 
away August 12, 1900, in the ninety-fourth year of her age. Solomon 
Sanders, grandfather of Mrs. Abraham G. Devendorf, was a native 
of Switzerland, and after his arri\al in this country settled in Mont- 
gomery county. New York ; he was one of the pioneer residents, and 
cleared a tract of land consisting of six hundred acres. During the 
early years of his life he learned the trade of clockmaker. and being 
naturally endow-ed with great mechanical skill and aljilit}- he l^ecame an 
expert at this business, and after his arrival in this countr}- devoted 
considerable time winter evenings to whittling out clock works with a 
jack-knife. Mr. Sanders died at the age of ninety-se\'en years; his 
wife died in the eighty-sixth }ear of her age. They were members of 
the Lutheran church. Their family consisted of the following named 
children : David, who now resides on the farm where he was born, 
and who was one hundred years old on November 3, 1903 ; Benjamin, 
deceased ; John, who was one of the "forty-niners" who went to Cali- 
fornia by the overland route; he now resides in that state and has 
attained the extreme age of ninety years : Solomon, deceased ; Catherine, 
deceased ; Betsy, deceased ; and Polly, deceased. 

George A. Devendorf has spent his whole life near Depauville, 
New York. He obtained his preliminary education in the common 
school adjacent to his home, and later was a student at the select school 
at Perch River, fall terms of two months each for four consecutive 
years, conducted by H. E. Morse (a sketch of whom appears elsewhere 
in this work), and by diligent and close application to his studies 
obtained a liberal education. The first four years of his business life 
were spent in driving a meat cart from his father's farm into Water- 
town, a distance of twelve miles, reaching his destination by sunrise. 
The following three years he conducted a prosperous trade in buying 
and selling cattle, after which he returned to the old homestead, and 
for ten years devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits. At the 
expiration of this period of time he engaged in the business of buying 
hay in large Cjuantities, shipping and baling from six to ten thousand 
tons a year for New York and New England markets. This enterprise, 
which he conducted up to the year 1896, proved a profitable means of 



422 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

livelihood. Mr. Devendorf still owns the old homestead, which he 
prizes very highly, it having been purchased by his father in 1837, and 
the house erected by him is still standing in a good state of preservation. 
As trustee of the Depauville Free Baptist church he was largely instru- 
mental in collecting the funds for the repairing of the exterior and 
interior of the old stone church and the erection of a parsonage. In 
addition to the money subscribed by the parishioners he received a 
liberal amount from Mrs. McCormack, of McCormack reaper fame, 
who formerly attended Sunday-school there with her mother, Mrs. 
Fowler, and also from the late Hon. Roswell P. Flower. He is a 
Democrat in politics. He Ijecame a member of the ]\Iasonic fraternity 
at Stone Mills Lodge in 1857, and later became a charter member of 
]\Iasonic Lodge No. 688, of Depauville; is a charter member of the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows No. 848, of Depauville; and also 
charter member of Mount-Calm Encampment No. 160, of Odd Fel- 
lows, in Clayton, New York. He is a charter member of Valley- View 
Lodge of Rebekah No. 304, Depauville; a member of Depauville Grange 
No. 59; of Jefferson County Pomona Grange; of the Order of the 
Eastern Star No. 125, Depauville; and also of the Jeffersonian Club of 
Watertown. 

In 1858 Mr. Devendorf was united in marriage to Lucretia Luther, 
born in Clayton, New York, in 1835, ^ daughter of Stephen and Mar- 
garet Luther. One child was born of this union, Stephen A. Deven- 
dorf, v.ho resides in Lafargeville, New York, where he is engaged in 
baling and shipping hay, and the manufacturing of cut clover and 
clover meal; his business is large and profitable. He married Emma 
Winslow, and they are the parents of two children — Perl and Mabel 
Devendorf. Stephen Luther, father of Mrs. George A. Devendorf, 
was born in Herkimer county, New York, and came as a pioneer settler 
to this section of the state, clearing a large tract of land. He and his 
wife, ]\Iargaret, reared a family of five children — Jeremiah, deceased; 
Cynthia, deceased : John, deceased ; Lucretia, aforementioned as the wife 
of George A. Devendorf: she died June 22, 1893: and Andrew, now a 
resident of Minnesota. Stephen Luther, father of these children, died 
at the age of seventy-five years; his wife died in the seventy-seventh 
year of her age. 

Two and one-half years after the death of his wife, George A. 
Devendorf married Carrie McCormick, who was born and reared 




Arsenal Street Methodist Episcopal Church. \Vaterto\vn 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 425 

near Limerick, Jefferson county. New York. With lier he now resides 
at his old home in Depauville. New York. 

HIRAM S. BARNEY. The family of which Hiram S. Barney, 
a prosperous agriculturist of Ellisburgh, is a representative, is descended 
from Edward Barney, who died in Braddenham, England, atout 1645. 
(H) Jacob, son of Edward Barney, was born in 1601. and died in 
1673, in Massachusetts. (HI) Jacob (2), son of Jacob Barney (i), 
was birn in England, and died February 12, i66g. (IV) Joseph, 
son of Jacob Barney (2), was lx>rn March 9, 1673, in Salem, Massa- 
chusetts, and settled in Rehoboth, same colony, from which town he 
was representative in the colonial legislature. (V) John, son of 
Joseph Barney, was born April 2, 1703, in Rehoboth. 

(VII) Edward, son of John Barney, was born August 18, 1749- 
in Rehoboth, and was educated for a physician. He settled in practice 
in Guilford, Vermont, where he continued until the spring of 1804, 
when he removed to Ellisburgh, in this county. The journey was made 
with an ox-team and sled, and consumed three weeks. He purchased 
one hundred and sixty acres of land at one and one-fourth dollars per_ 
acre, upon which he settled his large family. He died August 9, 1839, J' 
at Belleville. He was a deacon of the Baptist church. His first wife, 
Elizabeth Brown, Iwre him ten children, and died in Guilford, Vermont. 
He married (second) Phebe Bennett, who was the mother of six of 
his children, the last three born in Ellisburgh. The first of his children, 
Betsev, was born December 2, 1771. Susannah, the second, born in 
1772, became the wife of Libert}- Goodenough, whom she survived 
(see Goodenough). She subsequently married Elijah Gove, with whom 
she removed to Ellisburgh, and whom she also survived. The others 
of Dr. Barney's children were named as follows : John, .\aron, Ben- 
jamin, Eliakim, Rebecca, Miriam, Hannah and Caroline; (.second 
family) : Lydia, Darius, Damaris, Jeshuron, Caroline and Eunice. 

Joim Barney, son of Dr. Edward and Elizabeth (Brown) Barney, 
was born in Guilford, VeruKMit, in 1778. He came from the town of 
Lyndon, A'^rmont, in March, 1806, to Ellisburgh, New York, and 
located on a farm near Belleville : the journey was made by him on 
foot, driving an ox-team and one horse. He was a soldier in the war 
of 1812, and served at Sacketts Harbor. He was one of the organizers 
and served as one of the first directors of Bellevue Union Academy. 
His religious views were in accord with those advanced by the Baptist 



426 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

church. He was (jver six feet tall, and his shoulders were in proportion 
to lus great height. In iSoi he married Cynthia Potter, and they were 
the parents of the followuig named children: Orrilla, who became the 
wife of John Littlefield, and mother of Colonel Calvin Littleiield (see 
Littlefield). Hiram H., who was a graduate of Union College at 
Sclienectady. New York, was a lawyer, following that profession in 
Cincinnati, Ohio, and for many years was state superintendent of schools 
of Ohio. David Potter, mentioned at length hereinafter. Julia, wife 
of the Rev. Ebenezer Ward, who was a Baptist preacher, later a farmer, 
and resided near Cleveland, Ohio. Harriet, wife of Jonah Sanford, 
of St. Lawrence county, New York, a lawyer and judge, and who 
served as colonel during the Civil war. Lura, unmarried, who served 
in the capacity of teacher. Samuel, who followed farming on the old 
homestead farm. John, whose death occurred in Ellisburgh, was a 
farmer in that town and in Adams, and was one of the men who went 
to California to seek for gold in 1849. Electa, wife of the Rev. Albert 
Ellis, a Baptist preacher, of Michigan. 

David Potter Barney, second son of John and Cynthia (Potter) 
Barney, was born on the homestead farm in Ellisburgh, located next 
west of the one now owned by Colonel Calvin Littlefield. He w-as 
reared on the farm, and educated in the common schools of the day. 
He was united in marriage about 1843 to Lucinda (Knapp), widow of 
Nathan Cushman. She was born in Henderson, New York, in 1810, 

a daughter of Henry and (Rogers) Knapp, who came as 

pioneers to Jefferson county from the state of Vermont, and their 
children were: Pliram S., mentioned hereinafter; and Cynthia Lovica, 
unmarried, who resides in Belleville. After his marriage, Mr. Barney 
began farming on the tract of land owned by his wife, remaining there 
until his decease. He was a Whig and Republican in politics, a strong 
anti-slavery advocate, and a member of the Baptist church of Belle- 
ville. His wife died April 9, iS8g, and he survived her only fifteen 
days, passing away April 24, 1889. 

Hiram Sanford Barney, only son of David P. and Lucinda Barney, 
was born on the farm wdiere he now resides, November 24, 1847. ^^ 
attended the common schools of Ellisburgh, and the knowledge thus 
gained was supplemented by a course at Union Academy. He then 
began farming on the old homestead, which is located one mile west 
of Belleville, and consists of one hundred and twenty acres, and main- 
tains a dairy of thirty cows all the year, and usually keeps about fifty 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. •127 

head of cattle in all. In addition to this property he is the owner of a 
three hundred acre farm in Lorraine, an eighty-five acre farm in Ellis- 
biirgh, and a one hundred and twenty-five acre farm in Henderson. He 
is practical and progressive in his methods, and in this way his extensive 
operations yield him a goodly income. He casts his vote with the 
Republican party. 

On June 4, 1873, Mr. Barney married Dora E. Williams, of Belle- 
ville, New York, born May 11, 1854, a daughter of Alexander D. and 
Nancy (My rick) Williams. Alexander D. Williams was born Feb- 
ruary 17, 1830, in Boylston, Oswego county, New York, and was a 
hotel keeper and farmer; his wife was bom September 30, 1830. at 
Pierrepont Manor, Jefferson county. New York. They were the par- 
ents of eight children, four of whom attained years of maturity, namely : 
Ida R., wife of Theodore C. Colon, a hotel keeper; Dora E., afore- 
mentioned as the wife of Hiram S. Barney; Jennie N., who became the 
wife of Hugh Mellon, of W'atertown, who served as secretary of the 
Watertown Pressed. Brick Company, and during the latter years of his 
life was proprietor of the Walton House at Clayton ; and Lorena A., 
wife of George C. Gildersleeve, of Weedsport, New York, a com- 
mercial salesman for Wyeth & Co., of Philadelphia. Two sons were 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Barney : Howard W., born March 29, 1877, 
was educated at Belleville Union Academy, and taught school five years. 
He is now engaged in farming; he married Carrie G. Bell. Alden T., 
born November 24, 1879, educated in the common schools and Union 
Academy, and is now engaged in farming on the old homestead. 

FREDERICK WILLIAMS, a prosperous and progressive agri- 
culturist of Ellisburgh, Jefferson county, New York, traces his ancestry 
to Roger Williams, a native of Wales, whO' was ordained a clergyman 
of the Church of England, but soon became an extreme Puritan and 
emigrated tO' New England. For his opposition to the New England 
theocracy he was driven from Salem, taking refuge at Plymouth, where 
he studied the Indian dialects. Banished from the colony in 1635, 
accompanied by a few adherents, he escaped in midwinter tO' the shores 
of Narragansett Bay. where he purchased lands of the Indian chiefs, 
founded the city of Providence, and established a government of pure 
democracy. In 1654 he was elected president of the colony, and his 
death occurred in 1683. He was the father of three sons: Providence, 
Daniel and Joseph. The line of descent is traced through the latter. 






428 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Joseph Williams, bom December 16, 1645. was the father of a 
son, Josepli. Jr.. born November 10. 1673. and liis son Jeremiah, date 
of his birth unknown, died April 13. 1789. His son Jeremiah. Jr., lx)rn 
July 6, 1736, married Bethiah, daughter of Thomas and granddaughter 
of Joseph Williams. Jr. Their son. Othniel, Sr., born March 31, 1761, 
married Doi'cas Field, born July 22. 1766, at Providence, Rhode Island. 
They were among the early pioneers of Chester. Vermont, when that 
state was but a wilderness, where they made for themselves a home and 
became one of the prominent families of that state. Dorcas (Field) 
Williams was a daughter of James, son of Jeremiah, son of Thomas, 
son of William Field, who was one of tlie early settlers of Providence, 
and one of Roger Williams's most trusted friends. 

Alexander Williams, son/ of Othniel and Dorcas (Field) W^illiams, 
was born at Chester, Vermont, April 21. 1794. He received a prac- 
tical education in the common schools of New England. In 1818 he 
came to lillisburgh. New York, being one of the early settlers of that 
town, antl jjurchased one hundred and fifty acres of unbroken forest 
from Nathan Laphani. located about two miles west and north of 
Belleville, which he cultixated and improved until it became one of 
the best farms in that section of the county. He was an honored and 
respected citizen of that community, remaining there until his demise. 
He was not a memlier of an)" church, liut was regular in his attendance 
at the Baptist churcli at Belleville, aiding liberally in its support. 
During the early years of his life he was a \\''hig, but after the organ- 
ization of the Republican party abl\' supported its candidates and meas- 
ures. In 1 8 19 he returned to Vermont, where he married Rhoda Reed, 
a native of Rockingham. Vermont, and daughter of Frederick Reed, 
who was a soldier in the Revolutionary war and drew a pension for the 
same in the latter ])art of his life. Alexander Williams died April 21. 
1S76. 

I'rederick W'illijims was l>orn on the homestead farm in the town 
of Ellisburgh, west of Belleville, March 17, 1828. He resided on the 
old homestead until twenty-four years of age, in the meantime accjuir- 
ing an excellent education in the common schools and Union Academy 
of Belleville. In 1852 he purchased a farm of seventy acres located 
about two miles east of Belleville, and in 1861, nine years later, he 
sold this and purchased the farm where he now resides, three-fourths 
of a mile ea.st of Belleville, upon which, in 1872, he erected a modern 
and commodious residence, one of the finest in the town. From earlv 




4^:^'<c::/Aje// ^. Jo^^^U/m^ 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 42i» 

youth to the present time (1904) he lias been engaged in farming, and 
for the last thirty-live years has added thereto the occupation of seed 
growing for the seed trade, principally beans and peas, which has proved 
a most successful and lucrative means of income. At the age of fifteen 
Mr. Williams joined the Baptist church at Belleville, and since then has 
been an active worker and financial supporter of the same, also taking 
a prominent part in its endowment. He has served in the capacity 
of -trustee of Union Academy, Belleville, taking a leading part in estab- 
lishing the endowment fund, and also purchased the grounds and devel- 
oped the park as a gift to the institution. He has been a Republican 
in politics since the organization of the party, but has never sought or 
held public office. 

Mr. Williams was twice married. His first wife, Cordelia (Swan) 
Williams, whom he married March 9, 1853, died June 27, 1871. On 
March 23, 1873, he married Marion Ette Swan, a sister of the first 
wife. Both were daughters of Dewey and Polly (Rounds) Swan, of 
Belleville, New York, and both were educated at Union Academy. 
Dewey Swan, born in 1805, was a son of Joseph and Mary (Barber) 
Swan, and his wife Polly was a daughter of Jabez Rounds; they were 
the parents of four sons and three daughters. (See Swan.) Mr. 
Williams's first wife bore him one son, Frank Martin, born Octo-ber 
5, 1862. He was educated at Union Academy and Amherst College, 
follows the occupation of seed g'rowing, and resides at Belleville. He 
married Mary E. Edwards, and they are the parents of two sons, Fred- 
erick E. and Roger Williams. 

THEODORE L. HUNT. Few citizens of Watertown are better 
known or more widely respected than is Theodore Lansing Hunt. 
Sprung from old New England stock, he is a representative of a family 
which from an early period took a prominent part in the upbuilding of 
Connecticut and during the colonial era furnished to the government 
some of its ablest officials. 

(I) The first ancestor whose name appears of record was John 
Hunt, a pioneer of Connecticut. His wife Mary was a daughter of John 
Webster and his wife Agnes. John Webster was the fifth governor of 
Connecticut, chosen in 1656. His last days were spent in Hadley, Mas- 
sachuset*^s, where he died April 5, 1661. 

(H) Jonathan Hunt, son of John and Mary (Webster) Hunt, was 
born in 1637, in Connecticut, whence he removed in 1660 to Northamp- 



430 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

ton. Massachusetts, being one of the original proprietors of that town. 
He was a malster by occupation, was made freeman in 1662. and was 
deacon of the church from 1680 to 1691. He was representative to the 
general court in 1690, and died September 29, 1691, aged fifty-four 
years. Jonathan Hunt was a man who wielded authority with wisdom 
and benevolence, seeking the public good by honorable means. His 
influence was as much the result of character as of ability and high 
station. 

(in) Ebenezer Hunt, son of Jonathan, was born February 6, 
1675, and died February 23, 1743. He was the father of (IV) Simeon, 
who was born November 3, 1713, and died November 3, 1795, at the age 
of eighty-two. His third wife was Submit Troup. His son (V) Gad, 
^\as born January 16, 1749, in Coventry, Connecticut, and died ]\Iay 26, 
1806. He married Elizabeth Woodward in 1769. 

(\T) Elijah Hunt, son of Gad, was born September 20, 1782. in 
Coventry, Connecticut. He was one of the best known farmers and citi- 
zens of that region. Successful as an agriculturist and respected as a 
man, the future seemed full of promise for him, but his career was des- 
tined to be a short one. His death occurred at the early age of twenty- 
five and shortly after his widow died in giving birth to a son. 

(VII) Florace Stoughton Hunt, only child of Elijah Hunt, was 
bom March 13, 1808, in Coventry, Connecticut. An orphan from his 
birth, he was brought up in the home of Mrs. Stoughton, in Coventn', 
receiving his education m the common schools. He learned the clothier's 
trade and in 1830 came to Watertown, where he engaged in business. 
After a time he removed to Rodman, where he continued to ply his trade 
with success, and later went to Postville, Iowa. He subsequently re- 
turned to Watertown, where he remained a few years, and then went to 
St. Paul. Minnesota. He married in 1832 Harriet L. Bailey, of Sanger- 
field. Oneida county. They w'ere the parents of a large family, of wdiom 
the following are living: Horace H., who resides in Costa Rica : Clarissa 
Goodwin, of Chicago ; Emmanuel L., who married Jessie J. Hazel, and 
resides in Pamelia ; Theodore L., mentioned at length hereinafter: Julia 
D., Vvho became the wife of George Pierce and lives in Meona, Iowa; 
and Martha, who married Ga)-lord W. Hall of Antwerp. New York. 
Mrs. Hunt, who was a member of the Congregational church, died at 
the early age of thirty-nine, when her son Theodore L. was but nine 
years old. Mr. Hunt subsequently married Esther Van Hooser. His 
death took place in November. 1896, at St. Paul. Minnesota, when he 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 431 

hsd leached the venerable age of nearly ninety years. His career was a 
more than ordinarily eventful one, but amid all its changes of environ- 
ment, he preserved the character of an able and useful citizen. 

(VIII) Theodore Lansing Hunt, son of Horace S. and Harriet 
L. (Bailey) Hunt, was torn March 27, 1847, in Rodman. Before he 
had attained his majority he had served a term of three years in the 
United States army. He was early accustomed to independent effort, 
and received a meager education, as far as text books go, in the country 
schools of his native town. Though he spent little time in school, he 
has been many years in. the great university of observation and deduction, 
and by intelligent reading has become a well informed man. Before he 
was eighteen years old he became a recruit in Company D, Second Bat- 
talion, Eleventh United States Infantry, then stationed at Boston. After 
spending some time in recruiting service in Watertown, he was with 
the conquering force that entered Richmond, Virginia, upon its evacua- 
tion by the Confederates in April, 1865. About a year was spent in 
garrison and patrol duty at that point, and some eleven months in similar 
service in Texas, the closing days of his term being passed in Louisiana. 
He was honorably discharged at Shreveport, in that state, March 10, 
1867. The experiences of this era in his life have always been of value 
to him, as he began the life nf peace with broad views and has continued 
to progress with the lapse of time. 

Since leaving the army Mr. Hunt has resided in Watertown. Be- 
fore he enlisted he worked some with carpenter's tools and continued in 
that line during his military service. He continued jobbing and contract- 
ing in Watertown and the surrounding country until 1876, when he was 
appointed to his present position as superintendent of the school build- 
ings of the city. With the growth of the city his responsibilities have in- 
creased, and he now requires several assistants at times in caring for the 
thirteen school buildings of Watertown. He has never flinched from 
anv duty or responsibility m any relation of life, and his long tenure in his 
present position is evidence of his ability and fidelity. He is active in 
moral and intellectual movements, and fulfills the part of a good citizen. 

Mr. Hunt is an active, useful and valued member of Watertown 
City Lodge No. 291, independent Order of Odd Fellows: of Montezuma 
Encampment Xo. 27, of the same order, in which he has filled all the prin- 
cipal chairs : and of the highest branch of the fraternity. Canton Ridge- 
ley No. 14, Patriarchs Militant. He affiliates with the Independent Order 
of Foresters, and Joe. Spratt Post No. 2,21,. Grand Army of the Republic. 



432 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

He is an exempt fireman, and a director of the Volunteer Exempt Fire 
Department. While a strictly moral man, in sympathy with every benev- 
olent and moral movement, he is not a member of any religions body. In 
politics he is an ardent Republican. 

He was married, February 8, 1869, to Miss Gertrude L. Loftus, who 
was born March 17, 1846. in County Galway, Ireland, a daughter of Peter 
and Margaret Loftus. The father died in Ireland, and the mother came 
to America with her children and died in Watertown. Brief account of 
the children of Theodore L. and Gertrude L. Hunt follows: Harriet 
Mary is the wife of Edward Gaubrue, of Watertown. Lillian E.. Mrs. 
Will Warren, resides in Utica. Margaret E. is in Belleville, Canada, the 
wife of Clark C. Gerow. Florence K. is a teacher, and Gertrude C. is a 
stenographer in Watertown, Theodore L. is now a student at Pratt In- 
stitute, Brooklyn. 

CH.-VRLES ETHAN BUTTS. A list of the enterprising manu- 
facturers of Jefferson county would l^e incomplete without the name 
of Charles Ethan Butts, of Watertown. He is a grandson of Laird 
Butts, who was born in Port Hope, Canada, and came with his family 
to Jefferson county. 

Jared Butts, son of Laird Butts, was born June 22, 1828, at Port 
Hope, Canada, where he obtained his education, and then came to Le 
Ray, where he was for a time engaged in farming. For some years 
he worked as a cabinetmaker in Hounsfield, and later returned to the 
pursuit of agriculture, for ten years leading the life of a farmer in 
Lorraine township. He married Elizabeth, who was born in 1845, in 
Plattsburg, daughter of Jeremiah and Maria (Penny) Carpenter. The 
former, who was of French descent, owned and operated a sawmill 
in Plattsburg, and was an accomplished violin player. The other chil- 
dren born to him and his wife were: Jenny, deceased: John, who is 
a dairyman; James, who is a resident of Lorraine; Maria, deceased; 
Frank, who lives in Saginaw, Michigan ; Catharine, who is the wife of 
Frank Brennan, of Canada; and Abraham, deceased. The death of 
Mr. Carpenter occurred in Lorraine, when he had reached the advanced 
age of eighty-six years. His v.ife died aged over eighty-five. 

Mr. and Mrs. Butts were the parents of four children : Emma, 
who married Benjamin Van Brocklin, of Adams; Frank, who lives in 
Watertown ; Mary, who is the wife of George Van Nornam, of Adams 
Center; and Charles Ethan, mentioned at length hereinafter. The par- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 433 

ents of these children were active and respected members of the Protest- 
• ant Episcopal church. Mr. Butts died February 21, 1901, at the age of 
seventy-three, and his widow died at the home of her daughter, in 
Adams, April 27, 1904, aged sixty-nine years. 

Charles Ethan Butts, son of Jared and Elizabeth (Carpenter) 
Butts, was born September 20, 1871, in Lorraine, and was educated 
in Worth. At the age of sixteen he came to Watertown, where for a 
number of years he was employed on a farm. Later he entered the 
service of the H. C. Dexter Chair Company, at Black River, remaining 
with them seven years. He then became connected with the Water- 
town Paper Company, gradually advancing, by dint of industry and 
merit, from the position of a helper to^ that of superintendent of the 
mill. He has held this position since April, 1899, ^"^ bas in every 
possible manner demonstrated his fitness for the post. He is a promi- 
nent member of the Masonic fraternity, affiliating with Bethany Lodge 
No. 821, of Black River. Li politics he is an earnest Prohibitionist. 
He and his family attend the State Street Methodist Episcopal church. 

Mr. Butts married, in 1896, Lulu Lowe, and they are the parents 
of two children : Ralph, who was born August 5, 1897, and Ray- 
mond, who was born August 7, 1903. 

Mrs. Butts was born November 13, 1873, at Pillar Point, a daugh- 
ter of George and Fanny Lowe. The former was among the early set- 
tlers of Pillar Point, where he OAvns and cultivates a fine farm. He 
and his wife were the parents of two children : Lulu, who became the 
wife of Charles Ethan Butts, as mentioned above ; and Nettie, who mar- 
ried Professor A. C. Lewis, principal of a school at Chaumont. 

MICHAEL GILTINAN. Few residents of Brownville are more 
highly respected or more deservedly held in esteem as a good citizen 
than is Michael Giltinan. On both sides he comes of worthy Irish an- 
cestry. 

Daniel Giltinan, his father, was born October 26, 1790, in the par- 
ish of Glenn, county of Limerick, Ireland, one of a family of eight chil- 
dren, all of whom remained in Ireland. He himself led the life of a 
farmer in his native county. He married Mary, a native of the same 
county, daughter of James and Bridget (Moran) Haley. The former 
was a very successful farmer and market gardener. He died when his 
daughter Mary, who was an only child, was very young, and Mrs. Haley 
subsequently married James Lynch, of the same county. Mr. and Mrs. 



43-t GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Ciiltinan were the parents of the following children, all of whom were 
Irani in Ireland: i. James Haley, who married Bridget Sheehy, and 
spent his life in his native land. 2. Jeremiah, who married Johannah 
McCarthy, and in 1850 came to Brownville, where he died in 1899, leav- 
ing four children. Mary, the eldest of these, is the widow of John Far- 
rell, of All)any; Anna married James Kenny, of Watertown, and is now 
a widow with one daughter, Mary, who was born in Watertown: Eliza- 
beth married Andrew Seegrist, of Watertown. a \ery successful farm- 
er and dairyman: Richard went west, and is now supposed to be de- 
ceased, 3. Bridget lived and died in Ireland, where she married Wil- 
liam Lavery. 4. Johannah married James Neville. 5. Daniel came 
to the United States and went to Illinois, where he died in i860, and is 
buried at Alton. 6. Michael, mentioned at length hereinafter. 7. 
J(jhn died in Ireland when very young. The death of Daniel Giltinan, 
the father of this family, occurred in his native county in 1849: he sur- 
vived his wife one year, and both are buried in Raccail. 

Michael Giltinan. son of Daniel and Mary (Haley) Giltinan, was 
torn September 30, 1830, in the county of Limerick. Ireland, where he 
passed his youth in assisting his father in the labors of the farm. In 1850 
he emigrated to the United States and settled on a farm near Syracuse. 
In 1852 he came t(.i Brownville, and in the autumn of that }'ear went 
west. The time is fixed in his remembrance by his memory of the elec- 
tion of Franklin Pierce to the presidency of the United States, which 
occurred in the autumn of 1852. Mr. Giltinan went first to Chicago, then 
to Rock Island, and from there to St. Paul, where he obtained a posi- 
tion as captain of a vessel used for transporting produce down the Mis- 
sissippi river to Memphis. The following spring he went tO' Davenport, 
Iowa, and later returned to his old occupation of sailing a boat on the 
Mississippi, but afterward, desiring a change, left the boat at St. Louis 
and went to Montgomery county, Illinois, where he obtained work in 
constructing railroads. He then sent for his brother Daniel, who 
also obtained employment on the railroad and subsequently became a 
bridge builder. Before returning to Jefferson county Mr. Giltinan had 
the thrilling experience of passing through the worst cyclone the west 
bad ever seen, when the town of Comanche, Iowa, was destroyed in 
1867. 

Mr. Giltinan settled in Brownville, where for many years he led 
the life of a prosperous farmer, but has now retired from active labor. 
His sterling worth of character and genial nature ha\e won for him 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HLSTORY. 435 

a host of friends. He and his family are all members if the Immaculate 
Conception church (Roman Catholic) of Brownville, to the support of 
which Mr. Giltinan has always lilierally contributed. 

Mr. Giltinan married, in 1869, Mary Crawford, and two children 
were bom ti) them ; Katharine, wlio was born in 1870. and died in 1882, 
at the age of twelve years; and Mary, who was born in 1873, educated 
in the common schools, graduated in 1889, and is now a clerk in the 
store of A. Bushnell & Company, of Watertown. 

Mrs. Giltinan is a daughter of John and Katharine (McMahon) 
Crawford, of county Limerick, Ireland. They were the parents of three 
daughters all of whom were born in Ireland, i. Ellen, who married 
George Gregory, of Watertown, and has four children, Mary Ann, 
Ellen, Christopher and Catherine. 2. Ann, who married Patrick Mead, 
of Brownville, and has two children. The second, Catherine, was born 
in July, .1865, and became the wife of Miles Robertson, a native of 
Scotland, who was a stonecutter, and was killed while in the service 
of Milo Cleveland, the well-known bridge contractor. His widow now 
resides with her father in Brownville. The eldest child of Mr. and 
Mrs. Mead is William, who was born January i, 1863. in Brownville, 
where he was educated in the common schools. He married Lottie Tay- 
lor, of Black River, and they had two children : Flora, who was born 
February 5, 1885 ; and Charles, v, ho now resides with his grandmother, 
his mother having died in 1891. 3. Mary, who was born September 
12, 1837, and Ijecanie the wife of Michael Giltinan, as mentioned above. 

JOHN WALTER McCULLOCH, general superintendent of the 
Brownville Paper Company, at Brownville, New York, was born June 
14, 1858, in Clarksville, Albany county. New York. His paternal grand- 
father, Walter McCulloch, was born in Albany county in 1795, of Scotch 
descent, followed farming throughout his entire business career, and 
died at the age of eighty-six years. He married Sarah Horton, who 
was born in 1800 and died in 18 — . In their family were eight chil- 
dren, but only two are now living, William and Peter. 

Peter McCulloch was born in Clarksville, New York, May 10, 1838, 
and spent the days of his boyhood and youth in Albany county. After 
acquiring his education in the public schools, he was connected with 
farming there until his removal to Stillwater, Saratoga county. New 
York, where he was employed as a millwright for a number of years. 
He afterward retired and returned to the old homestead, upon which 



436 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

he now resides. -He married Polly Van Wie. who was born in Albany- 
county, New York, in 1840, a daughter of Peter Van Wie, who was 
born in 1800, and was a representative of an old and highly respected 
Dutch familv of Albany county. He became a prominent and influen- 
tial farmer. He removed to Saratoga county, and afterward to Bemis 
Heights, New York, where he was engaged in merchandising for a 
number of vears. Subsequently lie took up his abode in Washington 
countv. New York, and finally returned to Stillwater, Saratoga county, 
where he purchased a large farm, conducting it until his retirement 
from active business cares. He was supervisor of~ that town for a 
number of vears, and took a prominent part in all matters pertaining 
to public progress and improvement. He died at the age of eighty 
years, while his wife, who bore the maiden name of Maria Flansburg, 
and was born in Clarksville, Albany county, in 1805, survived him and 
died at the age of eighty-two years. She belonged to the Dutch Re- 
formed church, and w^as a member of an old and influential family of 
iier native county. In her family were four children. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Peter ]\lcCulloch were born two children, the daughter being 
Augusta, now the wife of Everett A. Little, of Boston, Massachusetts. 
Mrs. McCulloch died in 1S62 at the age of twenty-two years, when her 
son John was Init four years of age. The father afterward married 
Lucretia Kipp, who died in 1899. She was a member of the Baptist 
church, and by that marriage there were two children, Belle and Alida. 
John W. McCulloch, following the removal of the family to Me- 
chanicsville, Saratoga county. New York, pursued his education in an 
academy at that place. Throughout his business career he has been 
identified with the paper industry. On putting aside his text books, 
at the age of seventeen years, he entered the employ of Howland & Sons, 
paper manufacturers of Mechanicsville, and during his five years' con- 
nection with that house he became thoroughly familiar with the business 
in every principle and detail. He left Howland & Sons, in order to 
accept a better position as superintendent of the machinery department 
of the paper mills owned by D. A. Bullard & Sons, at Schuylerville, 
New York. Subsequently a more advantageous position was offered 
hiin by the Ontario Paper Company of Brownville, and when a year 
and a lialf had passed in that connection he accepted a still better offer 
from the St. Lawrence Paper Company of Dexter, New York. Li 1893 
he was offered and accepted the position of general superintendent ofi 
the extensive plant of the Brownville Paper Company at Brownville, 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORl. 437 

where he has since remained. In the miU employment is furnished 
to sixty operatives, and all kinds of colored paper are manufactured. 
Because of his practical and comprehensive understanding of the busi- 
ness in all of its departments, Mr. McCulloch is a well qualified man for 
the responsible duties which now devolve upon him. 

His political allegiance is given to the Democracy, and he has 
been influential in local political circles. He served as president of 
the village of Brownville from 1894 until 1898, and in 1901 was super- 
visor of his town. His personal popularity and the confidence reposed 
in him by the public is indicated by the fact that he is the only Democrat 
that has been elected in Brownville in a c^uarter of a century. He has 
se\-eral times been a delegate to conventions of his party. He belongs 
to Brownville Lodge No. 53, F. and A. M., and was formerly senior 
warden of a Masonic lodge in Schuylerville. His religious faith is indi- 
cated by his attendance at and support of the Presbyterian church. 

Mr. McCulloch has been twice married. He first w^edded (June 5, 
1880) Nettie Ford, of Stillwater, New- York, a daughter of George W. 
Ford, who is a millwright and a resident of Stillwater. He had two 
children, Mrs. McCulloch, and Laura, the wife of Albert Bratt, of 
Stillwater. Mr. and Mrs. McCulloch were the parents of two children, 
but both have passed away, and the wife and mother died in 1886, 
aged about twenty-one years. In December, 1890. Mr. McCulloch 
wedded Sadie M. Johnson, who was born at Perch River, a daughter 
of John and Sarah (McConnell) Johnson. Mr. Johnson was formerly 
proprietor of a hotel in Brownville, and is now deceased. Mrs. McCul- 
loch died in 1898, at the age of thirty-two years, leaving a daughter, 
Margaret McCulloch, born March 6, 1892. 

CONSTANTINE CANTER, a real estate dealer of \\"atertown. 
New York, w'as born in Tutlingen, Wittenberg, Germany, May 17, 
1847, snd represents an old family of that country. 

Christian Ganter, grandfather of Constantine Ganter, was born 
in 1785 in Wittenberg, and there spent his entire life, passing away at 
the age of seventy years. His wife, who lK>re the maiden name of 
Mary Merz, was born in Wittenberg in 1790. and she also reached the 
Psalmist's span of three score years and ten. The}- were the parents 
of three children, all of whom died in Germany. 

Lukas Ganter, father of Constantine Ganter, was IxDrn in Witten- 
berg in 18 1 7, and was there reared and educated. He became a promi- 



43S GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

nent agriculturist of his locality, and this occupation he followed up to 
the time when he was killed by an accident, in the thirty-eighth year 
of his age. By his marriage to Katharine Honer, six children were 
born, five of whom are living at the present time (1904), namely: 
Constantine, mentioned hereinafter; Kate, the wife of Fred Pohl, of 
Evans :Mills, who lost her only child, Mary, at the age of twenty-one 
years; Anthony, a resident of Pamelia. who is the father of five chil- 
dren — four daughters and a son; Rupert, who resides in Germany; and 
Elizabeth, the wife of Anton Merz, of Wittenberg, Germany. Chris- 
tina, the eldest child of this family, died in Pamelia; she was the wife 
of Frank Miller, and two sons and two daughters survive her. Kath- 
arine (Honer) Ganter was born in Wittenberg in 1820, a daughter of 
Joseph and Mary (Wenzler) Honer. Joseph Honer was a millwright 
by trade, and in 1852 he came to the United States with his family and 
located in Lafargeville, New York, where he led a retired life. Mr. 
Honer and his wife were the parents of eight children, all of whom 
have passed away: both he and his wife died at the age of eighty years. 
Constantine Ganter spent his early boyhood days in the Father- 
land, and he is indebted to tlie public school system of that country 
for the educational privileges iie enjoyed. After completing his studies 
he served an apprenticeship at the trade of wagon-making in his native 
country. In 1867, at the age of about twenty years, he came to Amer- 
ica, being anxious to benefit his financial condition by the utilization of 
the better business oppiortunities of the new world. He first worked 
for farmers in the vicinity of Lafargeville, and later he leased a farm 
in Pamelia consisting of two hundred acres, upon which he resided 
until 1880, when he bought tlie same, continuing its cultivation for a 
number of years. He afterward became the owner of two hundred and 
twenty-five acres on another tract, on which he erected good I>ui!d- 
ings — the barn alone costing four thousand dollars. He continued its 
cultivation until 1903, when he placed his farm in the care of his son 
and took up his abode in Watertown, where he is now dealing in city 
real estate. Previous to this time, however, he began operating in 
property here, having in 1898 purchased a number of houses and lots, 
also several business blocks, and at the present time he has on his rent 
roll fifty-four different families. He is associated in business with Silas 
Ball, under the firm style of Ball & Ganter, and they are among the 
most extensive real estate operators in the county. Mr. Ganter is a 
man of keen liusiness discernment, making" jutlicious in\'estments and 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISIURY 



■i39 



profitable sales, and thus has gained for himself the success which is 
the sure reward of earnest and well-directed labor. He gives a stanch 
support to the Republican party, and for eight successive years served 
as assessor of the town of Panielia, filling that position longer than 
any other member of the board, a fact which indicates the confidence 
reposed in him by his fellow citizens. He is a member of Pamelia 
Grange, of which he was treasurer eight years, and supports the Lu- 
theran church, in which iiis wife was reared. After living twenty-two 
years in JetYerson county, Mr. Ganter paid a visit to his native place, 
wdiere he found that many changes had occurred. He was glad to 
return, and believes this country the best and greatest on earth. 

He was married, October 12. 1871, to Miss Mary Anna Zimmer, 
who was born in Lafargeville, in the town of Orleans, Jefferson county, 
October 20, 1848, a daughter of Philip and Katharine (Poth) Zimmer, 
both of whom were natives of Germany. Philip Zimmer came to this 
country in 1843, locating in Lafargeville, where he followed farming 
and spent his remaining days, passing away at the age of seventy-nine 
years. His widow is still living, with home in Pamelia. She is a 
daughter of Bernhardt and Katharine (Myer) Poth, both oi whom 
were natives of Germany, and, on coming to America, in 1832, located 
in Depauville, New York, where Mr. Poth followed farming. His 
death occurred at the age of about seventy years. To Philip and 
Katharine (Poth) Zimmer were born seven children, of whom four 
are still living, namely: Mrs. Ganter; Elizabeth, wife of Albert 
Stevens, of Pamelia, and mother of twO' sons and a daughter; Nettie, 
wife of William Joy, of Watertown, with no children; and Katharine, 
widow of Albert Sargent, of Pamelia ; she has three daughters. George, 
the eldest son, died in Pamelia, leaving four children, one of whom is 
now deceased; Henry, the second son, died in Fairfield, Nebraska; and 
Charles, the youngest son, died March 28, 1904, in Orleans, as the 
result of an accident to a gasoline engine ; he left two children. The 
mother of these children, as aforestated, still survives and resides with 
her daughter. Airs. Stevens, in Pamelia. 

]Mr. and Mrs. Ganter have had four children : Rupert, the eldest, 
who is engaged in business in Watertown, married Meta Miller, and 
they are tlie parents ni two sons — Harold and Howard Ganter. George 
married Kate Ganter, and resides on the home farm. Nellie resides 
with her parents. Fred died at the age of twenty-seven years. His 



440 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

wife, Lydia (Schaber) Ganter, died four hours before him; a son,, Fred- 
erick Ganter, survives and Hves in Watertown with his grandparents. 

SAWYER. This name for centuries in the United States has been 
borne and honored by men who have been successful leaders in nearly all 
the walks of lile. As governors, congressmen and senators, as lawyers 
and jurisLs, as manufacturers and merchants, agriculturists and skilled 
artisans, as pioneers, they have shown those qualities of character which 
planted civilization in a land inhabited by savages and under most for- 
bidding conditions, and three thousand miles frdm their base of opera- 
tions. This occurred long years before the introduction of steam in navi- 
gation, and their hardihood, tempered by Christian fortitude, made them 
the fit instruments for the advancement of civilization upon the underly- 
ing foundation principles of "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." 
As the defenders of these rights, they were ever ready to face death, as 
the records of the early Indian wars in New England show, as well as 
those of the Revolution and later periods, when their country required 
defenders. It is shown that eighteen members of the Sawyer family, from 
Lancaster, Massachusetts, alone, were in military service at the same 
time during the Revolution, and one company recruited in that town was 
of^cered, from captain down, by Sawyers. 

(I) Thomas Saw-yer, the American ancestor, son of John Sawyer, 
of Lincolnshire, was born about 1626, in Lincolnshire, England, came to 
Massachusetts in 1636, with two elder brothers, and they settled in Row- 
ley in 1639. Thomas Sawyer was one of the first settlers of Lancaster, 
Massachusetts, with Prescott, Wilder, Houghton and two other fanrilies, 
in 1644. John Prescott had a daughter, Marie, to whom Thomas Saw- 
yer was married in 1648. The town was burned by the Indians on the 
tenth of February, 1676, by King Philip, who had a force of allies. The 
town then included fifty families, who made heroic resistance, the con- 
flict costirig the lives of fifty white persons and the -destruction of all 
save two houses of the settlement. Twenty were also carried away in 
captivity. After having been aliandoned for four years, the new settle- 
ment of tlie town was taken up by the sur\i\-ors, one of whom wai 
Thomas Sawyer. He w-?.s a blacksmith I)y trade, and after particiiiating 
most actively in the struggles, terrors and vicissitudes of fifty-three 
years, died September 12, 1706. at Lancaster, aged eighty years. His 
wife was of the same blood as Colonel W'illiam Prescott, of Bunker 
Hill fame, and William H. Prescott, the historian, and a family equally 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORV. 441 

zealous with the Sawyer family in the cause of independence. Thomas 
and Marie (Prcscott) Sawyer had seven sons and three daughters. The 
second son, Ephraim, was killed by -Indians soon after attaining his 
twenty-fifth year, February lo, 1676. 

(II) Thomas, eldest child of Thomas (I) and Marie Sawyer, 
was Ijorn May 12, 1649, '" Lancaster, and was grown to manhood at 
the time when the Indian wars began. He was, like his father, contin- 
uously active in the struggles, which were almost constant, necessary to 
the establishment of their homes and the peace, support and welfare of 
their families and posterity. He was married in early life, according 
to the universal custom of the time, the Christian name of his first wife 
being Sarah. She died January 2, 1672, and in September following 
he again married, the name of his second wife being Hannah. No rec- 
ord of her death is found. During Queen Anne's war, in October, 1705, 
a party of Indians from Canada entered the town of Lancaster and took 
Thomas Sawyer (2) by surprise, with his son Elias, and they were car> 
ried in captivity to Montreal. A younger son, Thomas, then fourteen 
years of age, escaped through a back window of the house, and was the 
stay and support of the family during his father's captivity. The latter 
was hastened very rapidly Lo Montreal and treated with great cruelty 
on the journey, as he had caused great losses to the Indians in this and 
previous struggles. He was marked for torture, but through the influ- 
ence of a priest over the superstitious savages was rescued after having 
been bound to a stake and the fagots piled about him. This temporary 
salvation of his life enabled him to put in execution a plan formed by 
himself to secure full release. He had reported to the French governor, 
Vaudreuil, that he had observed a fine mill site in his journey, and 
would build a sawmill, provided the governor would in return secure 
the release of himself and son. The latter was speedily released upon 
negotiation with the Indians, but no influence sufficed to free their old 
and hated enemy until the friar worked upon their fears. Holding forth 
a key which he declared to be that closing the gate of purgatory, he 
threatened to send them all headlong to hell unless they should immedi- 
ately release their prisoner, nnd carried his point. Mr. Sawyer set to 
work immediately and at the end of a year's toil had completed the mill. 
the first one erected in Canaila, and was set free. L'pon his return to his 
home in Lancaster he was received as one raised from the dead. The 
peace of Utrecht, in 17 13. ended the sa\age attacks upon Lancaster, and. 



442 GEXEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

as the records of peace are not so carefullv kept as those of war, no fur- 
tlier account of Thomas Sawyer is found. 

(III) Elias, son of Thomas Sawyer (2), born i68g, was retained 
in Canada a year after his father's release, in order that he might teach 
others how to operate the mill. At the end of that period he was paid 
f(ir his services and set free, and immediately made his way back to his 
natiie place. Here he died November 20, 1752. He married Beatrice 
Houghton, daughter of Robert Houghton, and they had two sons and 
three daughters, namely : Elijah, Elisha, Betsey, Thankful and Pru- 
dence. 

(IV) Ehsha, second son and child of Elias and Beatrice (Hough- 
ton) Sawyer, was baptized August 17, 1718, died August 25, 1786, at 
Sterling, Massachusetts. He married Mary White, by whom he had 
three sons and tour daughters, namely : Elias, Elisha, Jotham, Thank- 
ful, Prudence, Ruth and Grace. By his second marriage, to Susannah 
Huck, of Bolton, there were five children, namely : Thomas, Beatrice, 
Susannah, Hannah and Betsey. 

(V) Thomas, son of Elias and Susannah (Huck) Sawyer, was 
born September 7, 1757, in Sterling, and was among those who re- 
sponded to the Lexington alarm in 1775. He was married, January 12, 
1779, to Susannah Wilder, w!io was born December 3, 1756, in the 
same town. Immediately thereafter, in 1779, they settled in Plymouth, 
Vermont, where Mr. Sawyer subdued enough of the forest to enable him 
to live, and, with the aid of his skill as a carpenter, rear a large family. 
In 1800 he paid a visit to the "Black River Country," where good lands 
were said to be cheap. One of his neighbors who came on a similar er- 
rand the same year, was Hart Massey, and another was James Parker. 
On arrival ]\Ir. Sawyer found the Coffeen and Butterfield families here, 
and used his skill m hewing out from basswood logs floor-planks for 
their rude cabins. More fortunate or more prudent than others, he had 
come on horseback, and, after selecting his location in the eastern part 
of the present town of Watertown, he returned to Vermont for his fam- 
il\'. His friends there declared such removal to be extremely hazardous, 
a plain case of "tempting Providence," but he had seen the "promised 
land" and did not heed their warnings. The start was made before the 
close of winter, in order to be sure of sleighing to complete the journey, 
and after nineteen days they arrived at Jonah Woodruffs, wdiere the 
teams were put up, .^aid reached Hart Massey's house (on the present 
site of the Arcade Building) March 18, 1801, just eleven days after the 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. ^^3 

arri\-;!l of Massey and his laniily. Mr. Sawyer began clearing his land 
at once, and became a successful farmer. He was distinguished by his 
unobtrusive piety, and his house was ever the home of the missionary 
and clergyman. He and his wilV were among the nine persons who 
formed the Congregational church at Burr's Mills in 1803, in which he 
was the first deacon. He died April 23, 1825, aged sixty-eight years, 
and was survived by his wife until she reached the extreme age of ninety- 
one years. She was a woman of much energy and excellence of charac- 
ter, distinguished for kindness and good humor. In the pioneer days 
she was a physician and friend to many in several towns, and her char- 
acteristic advice was : "Be a friend to everybody, and you will never 
want for a friend." At the Lexington Alarm in 1775, Thomas Sawyer 
was a member of Captain Daniel Robbins' Company, Colonel Whit- 
comb's Regiment from Lancaster. He was a member of the \Vater- 
town militia, and participated in the battle of Sacket's Harbor. 

(VI) Joseph Wheeler Sawyer, son of Deacon Thomas and Su- 
sannah (Wilder) Sawyer, was born March 7, 1794, in the town of 
Plymouth, Vermont, and was seven years of age when he arrived with 
his parents in Watertown. His education was such as the children of 
the pioneers received, and he was early engaged in clearing and develop- 
ing a farm in the wilderness, which has continued to remain in the fam- 
ily. Here he passed nearly seventy-four years of his life, succeeding to 
the ownership of the homestead, and successfully engaging in farming. 

He was married, October 25, 1818, to Miss Mary, daughter of 
William Pepper. She was born October 21, 1797, in Otsego county, 
this state, and came to Jefferson county in 1809. Soon after his mar- 
riage Mr. Sawyer, with his wife, united with the First Presbyterian 
church of Watertown. On the organization of the Congregational 
church at Burrville they united with that, and continued faithful members 
to the end of their lives. J^Jrs. Sawyer's life was of the most exemplary 
character. As a wife and mother she was loving, kind and considerate ; 
as a Christian, devout, charitable, with that abiding faith in God which 
never wavers; as a neighbor and friend she was hospitable and indulgent. 
Her home w-a? the center of attraction to a large circle of friends and 
relatives. She died in W'atertown, April 12, 1873, beloved and honored 
by all who had the honor of her acquaintance. 

Mr. Sawyer was an exemplary Christian, having those strong attach- 
ments for the word and worship of God, in truth and in spirit, which were 
characteristic of his Puiitan ancestry. He passed awav December 3, 



444 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

1874. Of hi.s eight children, mention follows herewith : Mary A., 
born 1819, died in infancy. Elivira M., August 22, 1820, died August 
20, 1843. Melissa, August 8, 1822, died July 21, 1851. She was mar- 
ried in July, 1845, to Dr. William Clark, and lived at Central College, 
Ohio, where she died. Laurentius Thonnas receives extended mention in 
later paragraphs. Marielte, July 15, 1826, died May 6, 1881. She was 
married, in February, 1846, to Aaron Orman Sawyer, and they were 
the parents of nine children. Charlotte M., June 19, 1830, died Novem- 
ber 10, 1851. Fanny L., November 13, 1832, died January 4, 1883. She 
was married, September 23, 1858, to George \V. Hammond, and they 
were the parents of three children. Joseph B., June 16, 183S, died when 
fr\'e weeks old. 

(VII) Laurentius Thomas Sawyer, fourth child and eldest son of 
Joseph W. and Mary (Pepper) Sawyer, was born November 25, 1824, 
and the homestead which his grandfather located in 1800. He attended 
the pioneer schools of his native town and Black River Institute at Wa- 
tertown. His first independent occupation was that of a teacher, and in 
early manhood he went west and purchased land in Minnesota. He did 
not retain this long, but sold and returned to his native place and resided 
oil the old homestead and followed farming during the balance of his 
life. He was one of the most intelligent and progressive agriculturists 
of his town, and was an early member of Watertown Grange No. 7, of 
which he was treasurer for many years, and also acted as a director of 
the Patrons' Fire Relief Association for an extended period. In politics 
he was Republican, and held the office of supervisor four terms, a tes- 
timony to his soundness of judgment and integrity. He was a member 
of the Congregational church of Burr's Mills, and was its constant at- 
tendant and supporter throughout his days. 

Mr. Sawyer was a man whose character was rounded out by all 
the esseniial qualities which go to make up a Christian, an esteemed 
citizen and efficient officer, a perfect friend, an upright neighbor, and a 
true and loving husband and father. His whole heart was in his home, 
but he always had room in it for all mankind, and the community and 
the world were better for his having li\'ed. His example is an inspira- 
tion to his children and worthy of emulation by all men and women. 
He held a high place in' the esteem of his fellows, and his virtues will 
live in the minds of all who \\ere privileged to know him while their li\'es 
shall last. It is the province of this record to continue his commemora- 




^^^'^^/^^I^^^^'^V^^ 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 445 

tion. so that his descendants in remote generations may profit by his 
hfc, and point with pride to his stainless record. 

Mr. Sawyer was married, December 13, 1855, *^o Miss Cornelia Abi- 
gail Tolman, daughter of William and Mary (Bancroft) Tolman (see 
Tolman, VI). She was born September 13, 1831, in the town of Wa- 
tertown, and survives her husband, who passed away December 4, 1886. 
She was well educated for her day, possesses a bright mind and memory 
at this date (1905), and was a worthy companion for her noble hus- 
band, possessed of those Christian virtues which came down to her 
through a long line of New England ancestry. She resides with her 
younger son in one of the two houses which stand side by side on the 
old homestead. Her family included only two sons, William Herbert 
and Fred Lanrentius. 

(VIII) William Herbert Sawyer, elder son of Laurentius T. and 
Cornelia A. (Tolman) Sawyer, was born October 13, 1863, on the old 
Sawyer homestead in the town of Watertown. In a competitive exam- 
ination after he graduated from the Watertown high school, he won 
a scholarship at Cornell University. In 1884 he entered this institu- 
tion and graduated in a course of science and letters in 1888. For about 
a year he was engaged in the grocery business at Elmira, New York, 
and then returned to the homestead, where he has since been success- 
fully engaged in agriculture and dairying to the present time. He is a 
member of Watertown Grange, of which he was master two years, 
and of Watertown Lodge No. 49, Free and Accepted Masons. He also 
affiliates with the Burr's Mills Congregational church, and in politics 
has always advocated and sustained the principles of the Republican or- 
ganization. He has held the ofBce of justice of the peace since 1898, and 
his official career has proved satisfactory to his townsmen and con- 
ferred credit upon himself. 

Like his progenitors, Mr. Sawyer is a man of affairs. As a busi- 
ness man he has the esteem of all who have come in contact with him. 
As an officer he is respected for his efforts to adjust differences and the 
rectitude of his decisions, and for his regard for the public interests, as 
a member of the town board. As a citizen he is ever actuated by a de- 
sire for the betterment of society. As a son and husband he sustains the 
character of the Sav.'vers, and enjoys the affection and confidence of his 
family. 

Mr. Sawyer was married, June 16, 1887, to- Miss Lillian Delphine 
Bowdish, daughter of Philander and Augusta Lucinda (Gorham) 



4i6 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Bowdisli. She was born September 4. 1862, in the town of Sherbin, 
Chenango county. New York. She is a woman of education and refine- 
ment, and occasionally prepares articles which are delivered before Wa- 
tertown Grange, in which she is a valued member. She also contribntes 
to newspapers in description of her travels, which work is appreciated 
by her many friends. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer is a pleasant 
one. replete with the comforts of Hfe, and here hospitalitv is true and sin- 
cere, enteriaining friends with tliat thoughtful care which is a part of 
their natures, inherited from worthy ancestors. 

(VIII) Fred Laurentius Sawyer, younger son of Laurentius T. 
and Cornelia A. (Tolman) Sawyer, was born July 18. 1872. on the Saw- 
yer iiomestead, and finished his education at the \\'atertown high school. 
His life has been passed on the home farm, where he is engaged in 
dairy farming. He is a progressive and successful farmer, a member 
of Watertown Grange, and ever in touch with the best interests of the 
community. A steadfast Republican in politics, he has the qualities 
which have made his progenitors honest and honored citizens. A de- 
voted son, he endeavors to make the declining years of a noble mother 
as sweet and pleasant as possible, and their home is the abode of peace 
and cultured refinement. 

(VIII) AZARIAH HALL SAWYER, deceased, elder son of 
Rev. George and Mary Ann (Richardson) Sawyer, one of the most 
prominent among the active practicing lawyers of Jefferson county, 
spent all his professional life in Watertown. He began as a general 
practitioner, but latterly his services were greatly in demand as a cor- 
poration lawyer. He had a keen, analytic mind that was quick to grasp 
the vital facts of a situation, and during his ten years' service as county 
judge he made and sustained a reputation for probity and fair-minded- 
ness. Judge Sawyer came of old English stock, through Thomas Saw- 
ver, who came from England in 1636, and is mentioned at length here- 
inbefore. This line is taken up at the second generation, which is 
separate from the one hereinbefore appearing. 

(II) Caleb, fifth son and sixth child of Thomas Sawyer, was 
born February 20, 1659, and was married December 28, 1687. to Sarah, 
born February 17. 1661, daughter of Ralph and Jane Houghton. She 
died November 15. 1757. haxing survived him nearly three years. He 
passed away February 12. 1755, lacking only eight days of being ninety- 
six years old. He had five children. 

(III) Jonathan, eldest child of Caleb and Sarah (Houghton) 




t-^^^i^*/^-^ 



GEXEALOCICAL AXD I-AMILY HISTORY. -t-1" 

Sawyer, married Elizabeth Wheelock, and the)' were the parents of 
eight children, all born at Lancaster. 

(IV) Caleb, third child of Jonathan and Elizabeth (Wheelock) 
Sawyer, was born about April i, 1720, at Lancaster. He married Lydia 
(surname unknown) and settled in Leominster previous to December, 
1742, residing there until after 1759. He and his wife were admitted 
to the church there November 15, 1747. They had eight children, the 
first born in Lancaster and the others in Leominster, as follows : Caleb, 
January 13, 1741 ; Lydia, December 8, 1742; Abijah, August 14, 1744; 
Jonathan, December 13, 1747; Betty, October 25, 1750; Sarah, August 
25, 1752; Ephraim, September 19, 1756: T^Ianasseh, March 27, 1759. 

(V) Manasseh Sawyer enlisted in a company of scouts attached 
to the American army in July, 1776 He- was several times promoted, 
and served as private and officer until the close of the Revolution. After 
peace came, he settled at Potsdam, New York, and married Beulah 
Howe, who bore him several children. 

(VI) Manasseh, eldest child of Manasseh (i) and Beulah Howe, 
married Azubah Chaml:)erlain, and had two sons and three daughters. 
He died at the age of eighty-four years, having lived over seventy years 
in Potsdam. 

(VII) George Sawyer, son of Manasseh and Azubah Sawyer, 
was bom in Potsdam. His wife, Mary Ann Richardson, was a daugh- 
ter of Major Samuel Richardson, who distinguished himself as an 
officer of the American army during the war of 18 12. Rev. George 
Sawyer's two sons, Azariah H. and Gecirge C, were brought up and 
educated in the northern counties of the state, as their father was sent 
from one pastorate to another. 

(VIII) Azariah Hall Sawyer was born June 19, 1834, in Pots- 
dam, attended the Lowville Academy, and studied under private tutors 
in preparation for college, but he gave up the plan of a college course 
on account of his health. In 1854 he began the study of law in the 
office of Amos G. Hull, of Fulton. He was admitted to the bar in 
1857, and he made so favorable an impression on the examining com- 
mittee, that the chairman, the late James F. Starbuck, of Watertown, 
asked him to become his partner. The offer was gratefully accepted, 
and in July of that year the firm of Starbuck and Sawyer was formed 
and continued successfully until Mr. Starbuck's death in 1880. From 
that time Judge Sawyer was alone in his practice, and reaped the large 
rewards of an established reputation. The years of close study and 



448 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

application on which his reputation rested held their own satisfaction, 
however, in the pleasure the mind finds in its own activity. His judicial 
temper and wide legal knowledge made him one of the most trusted 
lawyers in northern New York. He watched the political movements 
of the time with the greatest interest, and in many of them he was an 
active worker and leader. He recognized many dangerous tendencies 
which can be met and combated only by good and enlightened citizen- 
ship, and he tried to bring this truth home to the people. He perceived 
that the battles of the present are no less real than those his ancestors 
fought, though other weapons have replaced the sword. Judge Sawyer 
was chairman of the Union and Republican county committees from 
1861 until 1867, when he was elected county judge. He served ten 
years, and his administration won general recognition and esteem. 

He was connected with many of the important financial interests 
of the city and county, and was at one time president of the National 
Union Bank. In 1898 Judge Sawyer was elected president of the Agri- 
cultural Insurance Company of Watertown and thereafter devoted him- 
self to the duties of that office, retiring from the general practice of 
the law. He was also a director of the National Union Bank of Water- 
town, of the Watertown Carriage Company, and of the Hungerford- 
Holbrook Printing - Company. For nine years he was a member of 
the board of education, and for two years was its president. During 
the war he was president of the Union League of Watertown, and he 
was always at the front in any movement that appealed to him as making 
for the betterment of society. Soon after beginning business in Water- 
town he became a member of Trinity church. He was senior warden 
for twenty-five years, and at the time of his death, November i, 1904, 
was chancellor of the diocese of central New York. In June, 1896, 
the faculty of Hobart College conferred on Judge Sawyer the degree 
of LL. D. He was a member of the New York State Bar Association, 
and president of the Bar Association of Jefferson county. He was also 
a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Founders and 
Patriots of America, of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation 
Society, and Society for the Protection of the Adirondack Forests, a 
member of the Jefferson County Historical Society, of the Jefferson 
County Golf Club, of the Union Club, Lincoln League, and of the Mas- 
tigouche Fish and Game Club of Montreal. 

He married Caroline M., the daughter of William Buckley, No- 
vember 3, 1859. Jennie Starbuck, the only child of this marriage, is 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 449 

now the wife of Sylvester H. Taylor, of New York city. Mrs. Sawyer 
died April i6, 1867. December 15, 1869, Judge Sawyer married Fran- 
ces C, the daughter of Edward Fox, of Oswego. ]\Ir. Fox was a bril- 
liant man, a member of the legislature, who died early. Josephine Caro- 
line Sawyer, daughter of Judge Saw}'er and Frances C. Fox, is a young 
woman of unusual gifts. She has met with great success as an author, 
"Every Inch a King," and "All's Fair in Love" being among her popu- 
lar works. She is president of the Irving Association of young ladies, 
and has been president of the Young Ladies' Literary Society. Her 
mother is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and 
was for a time president of the Ladies' Art Class. 

At a meeting of the board of directors of the Agricultural Insur- 
ance Company, held November 3, 1904, the following memorial of its 
late president was adopted : 

"In 1875, Judge Sawyer's legal abilities secured for him the posi- 
tion of general counsel of this company. Two years later his advice on 
more varied matters was desired, and for twenty-eight years, therefore, 
he has been a member of this board. Elevated to the vice-presidency 
in 1893, it was but natural that on the death of President Stebbins, in 
1898, he should succeed to the higher ofifice. 

"During all these years, we recognize the wisdom and fidelity of 
his guidance and his unfailing courtesy and kindness to his associates. 
No one doubted his loyalty to the best interests of the company or ques- 
tioned the integrity of his motives. He was patient and cheerful in 
adversity. We will miss him in many ways, not only as our official 
head, but as a true friend and wise counselor. 

"We wish to convey to his family our sympathy in the loss which 
we feel is not theirs alone, and to put on record our sentiment of respect 
and esteem and our high appreciation of his services." 

Similar resolutions were adopted by the directors of the National 
Union Bank, the vestry of Trinity church and the Jefiferson County 
Bar Association. The tribute of the bank directors said : 

"We who' have met with him on this board will especially miss 
his presence because we learned to know that in all his dealings with 
men Judge Sawyer was ever a gentleman and that his actions were ever 
characterized by the highest integrity and honor." 

The memorial of Trinity church closed with this fitting tribute : 

"Azariah H. Sawyer did his full duty in every office to which he 
was called. He endeared himself to all his associates. If opinions dif- 



450 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

fered. when convinced he was right he had a peculiarly happy way of 
winning over his opponents. He was courageous and generous. His 
convictions were firm, but justice and charity invariably controlled them. 
"He was a true friend, an lionest, upright man and Trinity church 
will esteem his character and revere his memory as long as the church 
exists." 

HARLAX PAGE DUNLAP is an able farmer and respected 
citizen of Watertown. His great-grandfather. William Dunlap, was 
born in County Londonderry, Ireland, whence on May 24, 1792. he 
sailed for America in the ship "Triston," landing in Philadelphia, July 
6. He went to Sourland, Somerset county, New Jersey, and subse- 
quently remo\'ed to Montgomery county, New York, where he passed 
the remainder of his life. He married in Ireland Mary Ann, daughter 
of Joseph and Margaret Patterson. She died and was buried, with 
one of her children, in the churchyard at Maghera. Ireland. Four 
children were born to them, three of whom reached maturity: Joseph; 
\\'illiam, mentioned at length hereinafter: and Sarah. These accom- 
[lanied their father to the United States, and removed to Montgomery 
countv. New York, Joseph being the pioneer of the family there. 

William Dunlap, son of William and Mary .Vnn (Patterson) Dun- 
lap, was born in April, 1770. in Londonderry, and came with his father's 
familv to this country. He was a well-educated man. and a worthy 
citizen. In youth he studied surveying and navigation, but did not go 
to sea, because of the objection of his parents. He was a merchant 
at Carlisle, New York, for many years, and died January 23. 1833, 
in Rutland, this county, whither he removed May 31, 1818. Here he 
engaged in farming until his death. He bought land and cleared it 
with the aid of his sons. On February 14. 1799. in Charlestown. New 
York, he married Elizabeth, daughter of .Vndrew and Margaret (Mid- 
dleton) Middleton. the latter named having Ijeen a daughter of Robert 
and Sarah Middleton, of County Armagh. Andrew Middleton, with 
his familv, sailed in May, 1792, from Ireland, and arrived in New 
York in July. The}- settled in Charlestown, New York, before 1799. 
Mr. and Mrs. William Dunlap were the parents of fifteen children. 
The death of Mr. Dunlap occurred January 23, 1833, and his wife 
passed away September 12, 1819, aged forty-one years. 

William Middleton Dunlap, second son and fifth child of William 
and Elizabeth (Middleton) Dunlap. was born February 20, 1805, in 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 451 

Carlisle, Schoharie count}-. New York, and in 1818 came with his 
parents to Rutland. He was reared on a farm, made agricultural pur- 
suits his life-calling, and was successful. In early life he taught nine 
winter terms of school. In 1871 he came to Watertown, where he matle 
his home for the remainder of his life. He married Edeny, daughter 
of Reuhen Scott, and they had five children, three of whom are living : 
Harlan P., mentioned at length hereinafter; Cornelia, who married G. 
A. Moore, of Watertown ; and Martha J., who became the wife of 
Robert M. Francis, and now resides in Salida, Colorado. Mrs. Dunlap, 
the mother of the family, died in 1885, and the death of her husband 
occurred in November, 1887. Both were members of the Congrega- 
tional church of Rutland, and later of the Stone Street Presbyterian 
church of Watertown, and were regarded with respect and affection 
by all who knew them. Mr. Dunlap was a Democrat, but not an ardent 
partisan, and was among the founders of the Republican partv. He 
alwa}-s refused to be a canditlate for political office. 

Harlan P. Dunlap, eldest child of William M. and Edeny (Scott) 
Dunlap, was born January 30, 1838, in Rutland, and obtained his 
primary education in the common schools. Later he attended the Jef- 
ferson County Institute, and during eight winters engaged in teaching. 
He had a large farm in Rutland, on which he remained for some years, 
and then went to Norwich, Chenango county. New York, where he 
bought a book store, which he conducted for eighteen months. At the 
end of that time he disposed of the business and returned to the home- 
stead and to the life of a farmer. In 1883 he came to Watertown and 
bought the farm on upper State street, which is now his home. It 
consisted originally of forty-seven acres, but in 1900 Mr. Dunlap sold 
part of the land to the owners of Watertown Park, for park purposes. 
The farm is handsomely located and valuable, and under the skilful 
cultivation of the owner is rendered highly productive. Mr. Dunlap 
is also engaged in the dairy business, on his Rutland farm. He is a 
'■member of the Watertown Grange, of which he was master for three 
years, and was master in 1903 of the County Grange, having held all 
the other ofitices therein. In 1873 and '74 he was elected by his towns- 
men to the office of supervisor, being then a resident of Rutland. He 
has been for twenty-five years a member of the I. O. O. P., affiliating 
with Black River Lodge, in which at one time he held the office of 
noble grand. He is a member of the Stone Street Presbvterian church. 



452 GENEALOGICAL AXD FAMILY HISTORY. 

in which he has served as elder for fifteen years, and has been also 
superintendent of the Sunday-school. 

:Mr. Dunlap married, December 24, 1862, Martha, daughter of 
Henry and Celestia (Tyler) Hopkins, the former a farmer and produce 
buyer of Rutland. Mr. and Mrs. Dunlap were the parents of one 
daughter, Mary E., who resides at home. The mother died at the early 
age of thirty-one years, and Mr. Dunlap subsequently married (Janu- 
ary 4, 1872) :^Iary, daughter of Erastus Dutton, a retired farmer of 
Rutland, who is now deceased. By his second marriage Mr. Dunlap 
was the father of two children : Charles J., who married Agnes Cald- 
well, and now resides in New Rochelle, New York, where he is prac- 
ticing law : and a daughter, Fanny, Avho resides at home. 

GEORGE F. JABAS, an able farmer and worthy citizen of Le- 
Ray, is a son of Frederick L. Jabas, who was born in August, 1807, 
in Switzerland, and in 1825 emigrated to the United States, landing in 
New York city, where he remained five }ears. In 1830 he came to 
LeRav, bought one of the finest farms in the county, and later pur- 
chased the Hardy farm. During the Civil war he went nobly to the 
aid of his adopted country, enlisting as a private in Company D, Tenth 
Artillery, and serving till the close of the war. 

Mr. Jabas married Lovina. daughter of Louis and Hannah (Bel- 
cher) Rosse. The former w-as a native of France, and the latter was 
born in Connecticut. Mr. Rosse, who was one of the pioneer farmers 
of the township, was for five years in the service of the famous LeRay 
de Chaumont, and afterward settled on a farm where he spent the 
last years of his life. His daughter Lovina was born in one of the log- 
houses \\-hich were the first dwellings of the early settlers. Mv. Rosse. 
who was a man of uncommon strength of character, died at the com- 
parativelv earn- age of forty-eight, and his wife survived him many 
years, being eighty-five years old at the time of her death. Both were 
useful and worthy members of the pioneer class to which the com- 
munity ow-es so much. 

]Mr. and Mrs. Jabas weie the parents of six children, three of 
whom are living: George F., mentioned at length hereinafter; Philip 
A., who lives on the main road in LeRay: and Anna M., who married 
Nathaniel Pennington. Mr. Jabas. the father, spent his last years in 
Grand Chute, Outagamie county, Wisconsin, where he died in 1870 
at tlie age of sixty-three. His wife passed away at sixty-nine. They 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. ^53 

were members of the Lutheran churcli, and possessed the sincere respect 
and cordial regard of all who were in any way associated with them. 

George F. Jabas, son of Frederick L. and Lovina (Rosse) Jabas, 
was born June 29, 1848, on the paternal farm, and received his edu- 
cation in the schools of the township. He remained at home until 
reaching the age of eighteen, when he enlisted in Company G, Fourth 
Regiment, New York Infantry, as a private, and served for three years 
on the western frontiers, holding the rank of corporal at the time of his 
discharge. He then returned to the old home, but soon after enlisted 
in Company B, First Regiment, United States Infantry, and served 
in the west, participating in much Indian fighting, and being in a 
number of engagements. In 1877 he was with General Miles, marched 
2,800 miles, and was among those who lived from March to December 
in shelter tents. He subsequently enlisted and held the rank of cor- 
poral in the ordnance corps, his service lasting nearly four years. On 
returning to the home of his childhood he settled on his own farm, and 
also worked a number of other farms. He is a member of Hamden 
Lodge, I. O. O. F., of Springfield, Massachusetts. In national elections 
Mr. Jabas votes with the Republicans, but in local politics he considers 
only the fitness of the candidates, irrespective of party. 

Mr. Jabas married in 1880 Carrie Stevens, of Worthington, Mas- 
sachusetts, of Irish and American parentage, and four children were 
born to them: Philip C, Frank F., George W., and Jennie L. ; the 
last named is now deceased. The eldest is now a resident of Ypsilanti, 
Michigan, and the others are with their father. Mrs. Jabas, the mother 
of these children, died at the early age of thirty-three, and Mr. Jabas 
subsequently married Mrs. Elizabeth Clark, born in Dublin, Ireland, 
daughter of Lawrence Alurphy. who was by birth an Irishman. 

ALEXANDER F. GOULD, who was extensively engaged in 
farming and also operated in real estate, was the owner of two hundred 
and twelve acres of valuable land near Watertown, on which he made 
his home until 1886, when he moved to Watertown. He was born 
in Pamelia, New York, August 21, 183 1, and represented an old New 
England family. 

His grandfather, John Gould, was born in Rutland, Vermont, in 
1770, and was one of the early settlers of the town of Pamelia, where 
he followed farming, blacksmithing and sheep-raising. He spent an 
active and useful life, and died at the age of seventv }ears. His son. 



454 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Daniel liould, father of Alexander Goukl, was born in Vermont in 
1802, and spent his early boyhood in that state. His education, how- 
ever, was largely acquired in Pamelia, and he resided for many years 
upon the farm subsequently owned by his son, Alexander, one of the 
finest farming properties in the town. He was an influential and hon- 
ored citizen of his community, and his life span covered the long period 
of ninety-three years. His death occurred in Watertown, and his wife 
passed away there at the age of seventy-seven years. She tore the 
maiden name of Frances Demons, a daughter of James Demons, of 
\\'a\ ne countv. New York. In the family of Daniel and Frances Gould 
were eight children: John, who resides at Painted Post, New York; 
Tames ]\I., who was a minister at LaCrosse, Wisconsin, and married 
Lillie Cott, but is now deceased; Daniel, of Shelly Rock, Illinois; Horace, 
of Utica, New York; Nelson, who is living in California; Alexander 
F. ; Clarissa, the wife of Hezekiah Barnes, of Watertown ; and Fanny, 
the wife of Chauncey Frasier, a farmer of Evans Mills, New York. 

Alexander F. Gould was reared upon his father's farm, and in his 
youth attended the public schools. He chose agriculture as his life 
work, and purchased his father's farm in the town of Pamelia. which 
he tilled many years. He resided thereon until 1886, when he pur- 
chased a residence on Court street in Watertown and made his liome 
there until his death, which occurred May 7, 1904. His political 
allegiance was given to the Republican party, and he was a member 
of the Methodist church, while !i\ing on the farm, and was one of 
its stewards. No other church was convenient, and Mr. Gould and wife 
joined this, for a church home. On moving to Watertown he united 
with the Baptist church, in which he filled the position of trustee. 

He was married February 29, i860, to Caralinn Leach, who was 
born at Cape Vincent. New York, in 1835. Her father, Hiram Leach, 
was born in the same locality, December 28, 1809, and died December 
20, 1893, at the advanced age of eighty-four years, spending his last 
days in the home of his daughter, Mrs. Gould, who is the only sui'vivor 
in a familv of two children. Like her husliand she is a member of the 
Baptist church. An upright, Christian man. Mr. Gould endeared him- 
self to many, and his loss was wideh' ninurned. 

DR. MURRAY MARKLAND ADAAIS. whose thorough and 
comijrehcnsixe knowledge of the science of medicine and correct appli- 
cation (if its principles has gained him prestige as a representative of 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 455 

tlie prnlcssion in Watertown, was born in that city, May 14, 1864. 
Here the ancestral liome of the family has been maintained through 
several generations. His great-grandfather. George Adams, was born 
in Cheltenham. England, and followed the weaver's trade, in which 
work he became very proficient, being known as a master weaver. He 
always resided in the town of his birth, and died at an advanced age. 
The family name in various sections of the country is spelled in several 
different ways, including Adames, Admes and Adams. George Adams, 
the great-grandfather, married Elizabeth May Carter, who was born 
April 2^, 1753. and was married in 1774. They became the parents 
of eight children : Mary. Elizabeth, Jane. Anna, George, William, 
James, and Jonathan. Of these William, who was born May 24, 18 10, 
is still living in England. 

George Adams was born in Cheltenham, England, July 10, 1808, 
was there reared, and was apprenticed to learn the upholsterer's trade, 
his father having to pay one hundred pounds in English money for the 
son's instruction in that work, as was the custom in those days. His 
apprenticeship covered se\en years, and he followed upholstering in 
England until 1850, when he came to America, taking passage on a 
sailing vessel which, after seven weeks, landed its passengers in New 
York. One of his sons had preceded him and was in Watertown, so 
to this place the father made his way. accompanied by his wife and 
four of their children. Here George Adams worked at upholstering 
for a time, and later engaged in business for himself. After a few 
years he retired and went to Benton Harbor, Michigan, where he died 
in 1879, at the age of seventy-one years. He had very limited educa- 
tional privileges in his youth, but was always an extensive reader, and 
became a well informed man. He took an active interest in church 
work in his native country, and was one of the volunteer Sunday-school 
teachers under what was known as the Sunday-School Union of 1803. 
In America he became deeply interested in, politics, acting with the 
Democratic party, but held no office. He married Harriet Ockford, 
who was liorn in England in 181 2, a daughter of Samuel Ockford, 
who was also born in that country, and was a master wea\'er by occupa- 
tion. In his family were three children : Anna, the wife of Rev. Henry 
Watts, a Baptist minister: Samuel, of England: and Mrs. Adams. To 
George and Harriet Adams were born eight children, five of whom 
reached mature years. These are Samuel, George, Harriet, the de- 
ceased wife of Thomas Ockford: Marv W.. the deceased wife of Albert. 



456 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

W. Dresser; William W., now of Chicago. George and William are 
the only ones now living, the latter being a resident of Watertown. 
The mother died December i, 1866. 

Samuel Adams, the eldest child of George and Harriet Adams, 
was born in Cheltenham, England, June 26, 1834. After acquiring but 
a limited education he was set to work to learn the trade of general 
turning. His trial lessons were the turning of ivory billiard balls, but 
he never completed his apprenticeship, for it was his mother's strong 
desire that her children should be reared in America, and in 1849 he 
was sent to this country with Joseph Kelley and other friends. Arriv- 
ing iti Watertown he was apprenticed to learn the trade of making car- 
penter's planes, becoming a master at the work, but the trade became 
ruined through competition with prison labor, and he became a pattern- 
maker, and went to Mississippi, where he was engaged in making pat- 
terns for steam engines, cotton-gin and saw-mill machinery. 

Returning to W^atertown, he became identified with the musical 
interests of the city, for which a natural predilection well equipped him. 
Even before he could speak he could hum a tune and his love of music 
was ever a predominant trait in his character. He first learned to play 
a tin wliistle, then a fife, and after coming to America he took up the 
study of the violin and of vocal music. In 1855 ^^ appeared in con- 
certs as first bass and \-iola player. In 1861 he was piano tuner and 
salesman with A. M. Utley, of Watertown, and in 1S65 he was instru- 
mental in forming the Watertown Choral Union, becoming its conduc- 
tor. He was afterward conductor in many concerts, including a suc- 
cessful rendering of the Messiah, December 30, 1875, its first produc- 
tion in Watertown. He was instrumental in conducting a concert for 
the benefit of Antoinette Sterling, and was the means of bringing this 
world-noted vocalist before the public. All of his leisure time was 
given to the study and practice of music. He had a pleasing tenor 
voice, and for thirty-five successi\-e years he was the leader of the Uni- 
versalist church choir of W^atertown. He was Watertown's most suc- 
cessful conductor of musical societies, and no man did more for the 
culture of a superior musical taste among the citizens of this place 
than did Samuel Adams. Erom 1866 until 1869 he conducted a music 
store, and in 1874 he again entered that business as a member of the 
firm of Adams Brothers, successfully conducting that enterprise for 
nineteen years. His last years were spent in retirement from business. 
One of his last business activities was the building of a business block 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 457 

on Court street, \v1iich he lived to see completed and occupied. Mr. 
Adams was a member of Watertown Lodge No. 49, F. and A. M. ; 
Watertown Chapter No. 59, R. A. M. : Watertown Commandery No. 
II, K. T. ; and was an exempt fireman of long standing belonging to 
Company A, of his home city. 

Samuel Adams was married in 1862 to Alice Clarissa Murray, a 
daughter of Roswell Doty and Clarissa (Dodge) Murray. The an- 
cestry of the Murray family can be traced back to Jonathan Murray, 
who is believed to have come to America from Scotland in 1685, and 
settled in East Guilford, now Madison, Connecticut. He was married 
July 17, J 688, to Anne Bradley, daughter of Nathan Bradley, who is 
thought to have come to the new world from Coventry, England. Anne 
Bradley was born November 16, 1669, and died in East Guilford, May 
19, 1749, while Jonathan Murray died there August 27, 1747, when 
about eighty-two years of age. Their children were as follows : Thank- 
ful, born December 12, 1690; Daniel, born February 24, 1692, died in 
June, 1727; Anne and Jonathan, twins, born October i, 1695, the 
latter dying August 19, 1714; Hope, born May 20, 1698, died February 
27, 1787; Selah, born May 8, 1701, died March 23, 1764; John, born 
October 10, 1703, died September 9, 1789; Jehiel, born March 28, 
1708; and Hester, born June 17, 171 1, died October 10, 1781. Mrs. 
Adams was a very fine organist, and one of the best teachers of both 
vocal and instrumental music in Watertown. 

Jehiel Murray, son of Jonathan ]\Iurra)-, was born in East Guil- 
ford, Connecticut, March 28, 1708, and died probably in Litchfield 
county, Connecticut, or Columbia county, New York. He was mar- 
ried November 12, 1733, to Mary Way, of Lebanon, Connecticut, 
who was born in 1713, and died October 12, 1806. They lived at East 
Guilford and New Milford, Connecticut. Their children were Ann, 
born March 7, 1734: Esther, born September 29. 1735: Abner, born 
April 4, 1739, died in 1766; Ezra, born July 11, 1741 ; Reuben, born 
February 17, 1743, died November 26, 18 10; Joel, baptized April 3, 
1750; Noah, born April 11, 1747, died May iT), 1811 : Irene, baptized 
April 3, 1750; Daniel, born June 19, 1753, died ]\Iarch 18, 1835; Ich- 
abod, born August 16, 1755, died July ifi, 1831 : and Solomon, born 
in 1760, died in 1822. 

Ichabod Murray, son of Jehiel Murray, was born in or near New 
Milford, Connecticut, August 16, 1755, and died in Harrisburg, Lewis 
county. New York, July 16, 183 1. He was married in 1782 to Lois 



458 " GENEALOGICAL AXD FAMILY HISTORY. 

Doty, (laughter of Reuben and Hannah (Delano) Doty. The first 
American ancestor of the Doty family was Jonathan, one of the Pil- 
grims who came in the "Mayflower." She was born February 12, 1767, 
and died January 30. 1824. They made their home in Fairfield, New 
York, and their children were: Henry, born May 17, 1783, died Sep- 
tember 10, 1866: Joel, bom July i. 1784, died August 14, 1861 ; Calvin, 
born December 14, 1786, died September 30, 1816; Sophia, born April 
10, 1788, died January 30, 1833; Cynthia, born April i, 1790, died 
July 5, i8ji : Juba, born March 15, 1792. died January 29, 1826; Nor- 
man, born January 27, 1794, died August 19, 1822; Frederick, born 
March 31, 1796, died in July of that year; Seymour, born August 24, 
1797, died January 10, 1845; Roswell Doty, born April 30, 1800; 
Sabrina, born April 9, 1802, died January 13, 1868; and Truman, born 
August 9, 1805, died October 22, 1879. 

Roswell Doty Murray, the maternal grandfather of Dr. Adams, 
was torn in Fairfield, New York, April 30, 1800, and died in Water- 
town, November 14, 1877. He was married. July 26, 1821, to Clarissa 
Dodge, whose birth occurred October 11, 1802. and who died August 

3, 1891. They lived in Rutland and Watertown, New York, and their 
children were iour in number: Ehira, born August i. 1824, died 
December 31, 1845; Marinda Emily, born October 28, 1826, died Feb- 
ruary 16, 1904; Leonard Roswell, born October 21, 1829, died March 
25. 1901 ; Alice Clarissa, born May 11, 1832. The last named was 
born on a farm in Rutland township, Jefferson county, and after attend- 
ing the common schools she entered the Black River Institute in Water- 
town. She was married June 3, 1862, to Samuel Adams, and died May 

4. 1S97. There was but one child of that marriage, Murray M. Adams. 

Dr. Murray M. Adams, whose birth occurred in Watertown May 
14. 1864. was reared and educated here. He completed the high school 
course, and afterward took up the study of medicine with Drs. Farmer 
and Laird. Subsecpiently he matriculated in the New York Medical 
College, from which institution he was graduated in 1885. He remained 
for a year in practice in New York, and then went to St. Albans, Ver- 
mont, but subseciuently returned to Watertown and entered upon the 
general practice of medicine here. He is nOAv the second oldest phy- 
sician of the town, and the extent and importance of his professional 
business is surpassed by none. He is a thorough student of his call- 
ing, and his skill and ability have won him very creditable and gratify- 
ing success as a representative of the medical profession. He was 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. -i5!» 

appointed by Governor Flower a member of tbe state l^oard of liealtb, 
and has been connected with the Flower family in a professional capacity 
for nineteen years. He was for seven years on the board of the Orphans' 
Home, and served as a member of the stafif of the Henry Keep Home 
for thirteen years. He is still acting- in that capacity and he is also a 
member of the State Homeopathic Medical Society. For three years 
he was a member of the city board of health, preceding a similar service 
on the state board. In addition to his profession he has valuable realty 
interests in Watertown, including a fine block four stories high and a 
sixty-foot front on Court street, which was erected by his father. This 
contains four store rooms. He is also the owner of a number of offices 
on Jackman street. 

Dr. Adams is prominent in Masonic circles, belonging to Water- 
town Lodge, No. 49, F. and A. M. : Watertown Chapter, No. 59, 
R. A. M. : and Watertown Commandery, No. 11. K. T. He is also 
identified with Media Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He and his family 
are members of the First Presbyterian church. He served for seven 
years as organist in the Methodist church, possessing the musical taste 
and talent 'for which his father and mother were noted. 

Dr. Adams was married in i8go to Miss Chrilla M. Doolittle, who 
was born in Russell, St. Lawrence county. New York. Fler father, 
Oswald Brody Doolittle, was also a native of that place, and was a land 
agent for the Brody estate. For many years he resided in Russell, 
where his last days were spent. Dr. Adams and his wife have one 
daughter, Alice Doolittle. He erected their present fine home on 
Massey avenue in 1901, it being one of the most beautiful residences in 
that section of the city. 

JOHN GILBERT GRAFTON. M. D., noted as a surgeon, lec- 
turer and scholar, was born December 3. 181 1. in London, England, 
of distinguished ancestry, but spent most of his life in Canada and the 
United States. His father was among the youngest graduates of Ox- 
ford, being the best Greek scholar of his class, and was offered the chair 
of Greek in that famous university. 

The son was also a graduate of Oxford, where he took many honors 
and prizes for scholarship, even including the theological prizes. He 
completed the course at the extraordinarily early age of twentv-one 
years, and his health became impaired by his exceeding industry in 
the pursuit of knowledge. Hoping to receive benefit bv a change of 



400 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

climate, he went to Quebec and established himself as a physician and 
surgeon, having prepared himself for that profession. Just as he was 
making a reputation and becoming firmly established, he lost every- 
thing he had in a fire, and was forced to begin the world anew. Coming 
to this state, he located at Brownville, this county, and soon began to 
build up a valuable practice. At this time he suffered a severe hemor- 
rhage of the lungs, and was forced to give up his profession for a time. 
Going to the far west, he camped on the plains and hunted and ex- 
plored, for the benefit of outdoor life. His next location was at Janes- 
ville, Wisconsin, where he remained two 3'ears. Returning to Brown- 
ville, about 1856, he rapidly grew into a large practice. At this time 
Dr. Gilbert Parker, the leading physician of New York city, ofifered 
him large inducements to locate there, but he preferred to be independ- 
ent. After remaining seven years at Brownville he moved to Water- 
town, which city continued to be his home during the balance of his ■ 
life. His time was almost wholly given to surgery, which called him 
much throughout this and other states, also receiving patients at his 
home from many distant states. 

Records at Washington, D. C., show that Dr. Grafton performed 
successfully upon Mrs. George Yost, of Theresa, a major operation 
for hysterectomy twenty-five years before it was done by any other 
surgeon of his time. He designed all the instruments for this operation 
and superintended their preparation. These designs have since been 
adopted and used as standard. Many who condemned his methods at 
first were afterward glad to secure his aid in caring for patients, and 
though he was the object of much jealous malignment, he never bore 
any malice toward others. He had a great aptitude for surgery, and 
was often called long distances to perform the most difficult operations. 
Aside from the practice of his profession. Dr. Grafton was Icnown 
in the lecture field, and in both lines of endeavor he conquered admira- 
tion and esteem, attested by many \aluable tokens and memorials of 
silver, which are treasured by his family. He was a man of large 
charity, and careless of financial rewards, ^^'hen he left Janesville, 
Wisconsin, after a practice of only two years, largely through the south 
and west, there were outstanding accounts on his books amounting to 
fifty thousand dollars. He was very industrious, enduring many hard- 
ships, and achieved success by his own originality, energy and skill. 
During his minr)rity he enjoyed all the blessings commanded b_\' wealth, 
but. through his misfortunes was sometimes in closelv straitened cir- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 461 

cumstances, but endured its discomforts without complaint, and was ■ 
never so poor that he was not ready to divide with others. His skill 
was at the command of all, rich and poor, and many a case among the 
latter class was undertaken without any charge for his services. He 
seldom partook of a meal without reserving a portion for some unfor- 
tunate neighbor. He affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and rose 
to the rank of Knight Templar in the order. In the autumn of 1879, 
he contracted a severe cold, and his poor, overwrought frame could no 
longer withstand the inroads of insidious disease. He died October 10, 
of consumption, at the age of sixty-five years. Only his determination, 
aided by a strong constitution, enabled him to survive the numerous 
hemorrhages he suffered, in the midst of a most rigorous life. His death 
was an irreparable loss to his profession and the community lost a 
good citizen, the poor a kind benefactor. 

Dr. Grafton was married May, 1844, in London, to Mary Abbott, 
a native of that city, who is now living in Watertown, at the age of 
eighty-five years. Of her five children, onl}- one is now living, namely, 
Kate, the wife of Silas L. George, of Watertown. 

SILAS LEVI GEORGE, one of the best known citizens and busi- 
ness men of Watertown, is a leading jeweler of that city, and the second 
of the name among mercantile men of Jefferson county. 

His father, Silas Levi George, was born in Lorraine, this county, 
a son of John and Phebe George, of English ancestry. About 1840 he 
located in the village of Theresa, and engaged in mercantile business, 
which he continued until his death, m 1862, at the age of forty-one years. 
His wife was Caroline Flower, daughter of Nathan Monroe Flower, and 
sister of the late Governor Flower, of New York (see Flower V, foi 
ancestry). She died in 1888. Both Mr. George and his wife were 
active members of the Presbyterian church. They were the parents of 
three children. John S., the eldest, is a real estate and mine owner, 
residing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Nathan M. is a wealthy citizen of 
Danbury, Connecticut. Silas L. receives further mention in following 
paragraphs. 

Silas L. George, Jr., was born September 8, 1852, in Theresa, and 
attended the public schools there until he was fourteen years of age. He 
then came to Watertown and spent nearly a year as clerk in the dry goods 
house of Hoffman & Weinberg. On leaving this employment, he became 
an apprentice in the jewelry establishment of R. P. & A. R. Flower, 



462 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

where lie continued as an employe until 1878, when he purchased the 
establishment and has since conducted it with gratifying success. He 
is identified with other interests, both of business and social nature, that 
pertain to the life of his city. About 1889 he became a stockholder in 
the Walertown Gas Company, and has been its secretary and treasurer 
since 1896. He is also a director of the Chamber of Commerce and 
trustee of the Watertown Savings Bank. He was for. nine years a mem- 
ber of the volunteer fire department, Ijeing chief during the last two 
years. For Lwenty years he has been secretary of the board of trustees 
of the Henry Keep Home. He is a member of Trinity church, of the 
Union Club, tlie Royal Arcanum and of Corona Lodge No. 705, Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows. 

Mr. George was married October 31, 1878, to Kate, daughter of 
the late Dr. John G. Grafton (see Grafton). Two sons have been given 
to this union. Roswell Silas, the elder, is a graduate of Cornell Law 
School, and is now a resident of New York, engaged in the brokerage 
and hanking office of Flower & Company. John Gilbert, the younger, 
is a student in the mming and engineering department of Yale Univer- 
sity, m the class of 1906. 

GEORGE BACON KLMBALL, who throughout his entire life has 
been identified with agricultural pursuits in the town of Pamelia, Jef- 
ferson county, was born March 12, 1843, O" the farm which is still 
his home. 

The family is of Scotch-English descent, and has been represented 
in this county for nearl)- a century. His grandfather, William S. Kim- 
ball, who was born in Chester, Vermont, in 1785, came to New York 
with an ox-team, locating first in Brownville, where he purchased sev- 
enty-fi\e acres of land and some years afterward removed to Brown- 
\ille and purchased a farm, on which he made his home during the 
greater part of his life. He died, however, at the home of one of his 
daughters, at the very advanced age of ninety-seven years. He married 
Lucy Bryant, who was born in Vermont in 1787, a daughter of John 
Bryant, and died at the age of eighty-three years. They had a family 
of ten children: Lucy, Mary, Orinda, William, John. Amos, Horace, 
Emily, Louisa, and George H. The last mentioned, the youngest of 
the family, is the only one now living, and is still hale and heartv, at the 
age of eighty-six years. He was educated in the common schools of 
his native town, and for twenty years followed shoe-making in l>e>;ter 



GEXEALOGICAL AXD FAMILY HISTORY. 463 

and Brownville. He married Ahira Baker, and they had five children, 
but Fanny is the only one now living, and with her George H. Kimball 
makes his home. She married William Knox and has three children, 
Rue, William and Florence, aged respectively fourteen and twelve years, 
and four months. 

William Kimball, father of George B. Kimball, was born in Chester, 
Windsor county. Vermont, July i6, 1805. He spent the days of his 
boyhood and youth in his native place, and acquired his education in 
the common schools. At an early age he learned the stonemason's trade 
at which he worked for a number of years, and then turned his attention 
to farming. He came to this locality before he was of age and worked 
on the Oswego canal locks. He returned to Vermont, and induced his 
parents to accompanv him to this county. arri\'ing in \\'atertown in 
February. 1823. He began clearing land preparatory to placing it untler 
the plow and for many years was actively engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits whereby he attained prosperity. When he first located in Pamelia 
township he had but a small farm, on which he built a log house and log 
barn, but when he had cleared the original eighteen acres, he added to 
his place and from time to time made additional purchases until he was 
the owner of three hundred and twenty-five acreS of valuable land, on 
which he erected fine, modern buildings, and placed all the accessories 
and conveniences of a model farm. He was a very successful farmer 
and was a man of most indefatigable energy and industry. Throughout 
his entire life he cut all of his own wood, although he li\'ed to the 
advanced age of ninety-one years. He was a man of very rugged con- 
stitution, strong and robust, was six feet four inches in height, and 
weighed two hundred and twent}'-five pounds. He had no aspiration 
for public ofifice or political honors, but upheld Democratic principles and 
once served as constable. He married Almeda Bacon, who was born in 
Brownville, New York. March 18. 1806. Her father, Moses Bacon, a 
millwright by trade, was one of the first settlers of the county and resided 
on a farm in the village of Watertown that includes the site of the public 
square of that city. His only son was killed by the falling of a tree that 
stood where the American House is now seen. Moses Bacon was killed 
in a mill at Chaumont. Mrs. Kimball was one of his four children and her 
death occurred March 18. 1845. She held memtership in the Universalist 
church. To William and Almeda Kimball were born eight children, of 
whom four are now living : Lucy, who is the widow of Charles Law- 
rence and resides in Watertown. New York: Laura, the wife of Bravton 



464 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Brown, of Watertown ; Elvira E., who is living with her brother George 
B., who is the youngest of the family. His twin sister, Mira E., became 
the wife of George Shaw and died in Oberlin, Kansas, in 1902. 

George B. Kimball spent his early years on the home farm, attended 
the common schools, and when not engaged with the duties of the school 
room assisted his father in the labors of field and meadow, so that 
he soon gained a practical knowledge of farming methods. After attain- 
ing his majority he assumed the management of the home farm, and has 
since been in control of the property, which he now owns, and which is 
very valuable, the well-tilled fields returning to him an excellent income 
in return for progressive methods and careful and systematic cultivation. 
In duties of citizenship he is not remiss, and his political support is given 
to the Democracy. He was a charter member of the Watertown Grange. 

Mr. Kimball was married to Miss Maria Obrey, who was born 
near Depauville, New York, and died January 24, 1871, at the age 
of twenty-four years. In 1872 Mr. Kimball wedded Alice L. Gale, 
who was born in the same house in which her husband's birth oc- 
curred. Her father, Elijah Gale, was a native of Brownville, was a 
farmer by occupation, and died in his native town in 185 1. His widow 
is still living at the age of seventy-four years. In their family were six 
children, of whom three are yet living: Simon, a resident of Rochester, 
New York; Robert Gale, of Watertown, and George, who is living on 
the old homestead. 

Mr. Kimball has two children : Lois L., married Frank C. Wood- 
ward, resides on a farm near the old homestead, and they have one child, 
George H. Lottie M. is the wife of Earl Woodward, and they have one 
son, Paul K. Mr. Kimball also lost one child. Vera, who died at the 
age of seventeen years. 

ALBERT G. SNELL, a well-known resident of Clayton Center, 
Jefiferson county, New York, and a veteran of the civil war, is a farmer 
and the owner of the largest apiary in that section. His farming opera- 
tions are not on a large scale, but are conducted with a view to the highest 
adaptability of the soil, and in accordance with the most approved meth- 
ods. He finds in his bees an unfailing source of interest and pleasure as 
well as a substantial means of income. 

Leonard Snell, father of Albert G., was born in Manheim, Herkimer 
county. New York, October 9, 181 7. He grew up there and learned the 
trade of tailor. He worked at his trade for a time in Manheim, and later 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 465 

Avent to Jowa. Returning" to Jefferson county, he worked on a farm in 
Orleans for a year, when he rented a farm in Clayton, where he stayed 
ten years. .'\t the end of this time he bought the farm of one hundred 
and fifty acres that has since been his home. His wife was Eliza Spoon- 
enburg. born in Herkimer. New York, who was one of a family oi seven 
children. She died at the age of se\-enty-five. and of her six children, but 
four are now living, as follows ; JNlarietta. who married Alec Snell, of 
Herkimer counlv ; Albert C, who receives special mention later in this 
narrati\e: Jane, who married Herbert b~ox, of Watertrnvn. New York: 
Ella, who married David Bretch, of Alexandria Center. New York. 

Albert G.. first son and second child of Leonard and Eliza (Spoon- 
enburg) Snell, was born in Manheim, Herkimer county. New York. 
April 13, 1845. His early years were spent on his father's farm and 
in attendance in the common school. In September. 1864, he enlisted 
with the Union forces, serving in Company H, One Hundred and 
Eiohtv-sixth Regiment New York Volunteers; attached to the Second 
Brigade. Second Division, Ninth Army Corps. The regiment was 
commanded by Colonel Bradley Winslow, a native of Watertown (see 
sketch elsewhere), who had made a record of gallant service earlier in 
the war. This detachment was stationed in front of Petersburg, and 
bore an important part ii. the siege of that Confederate stronghold. 
Colonel Winslow's regiment led the attack that captured Fort Malone, 
and took an active part in the capture of the Weldon railroad. The 
capitulation of Petersburg signalizing the fall of Richmond and the 
end of the war. Mr. Snell was discharged after nine months' service. 
He returned to his father's farm, where he worked until his twenty- 
seventh year, and for the seven years following he occupied the farm 
of M. W. Wright. At the end of that time he bought the farm of 
seventy acres which he now owns. He carried on general farm work 
until 1880. when he made a beginning in bee culture. The venture 
proved successful, and he has extended the business until he now has 
two hundred hives, and is the largest producer of honey in that locality. 
Mr. Snell is a Republican, and has been active in county politics. He 
has been often a delegate to the county conventions, was town collector 
one year and is now ( 1904) serving his third term as assessor. He is 
a member O'f Grand Army Post, No. 410, of Clayton, a member of 
Clayton Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, and both he and his 
wife are earnest workers in the Congregational church. He has the 
esteem and confidence of the whole community. 



466 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

He married, January i, 1868, Eliza ^^■rigllt, born in Herkimer 
county, a daughter of M. W. Wright. The father was born in Otsego 
county, and settled in Clayton Center in 1834, where he bought a large 
farm which he managed up to the time of his death at the age of seventy- 
five. His wife was Mary Smith, of Clayton, daughter of Amasa and 
Clarissa (Hubbard) Smith; she died February 14, 1904, at the age of 
eio-hty-one years. Amasa Smith spent the whole of the seventy-nine 
years of his life in Clayton. His wife was one of a family of seven 
children, of whom only one besides herself is now living, Richard, of 
Michigan. M. W. Wright and his wife were the parents of five children, 
of whom Mrs. Snell is the oldest. Of the other members of the family, 
Sarah married Edward Walrath of Clayton; \\'alstein is a farmer in 
Michigan; Annie and Berri are living on the old homestead. The one 
child of Albert and Eliza (Wright) Snell, Mary B., born November 
29, 1869, married Louis Schnauber, a farmer of the town, and is the 
mother of one child. Earl A. 

IR-\ SYLVESTER, who is practically living a retired life upon 
his farm at Clayton, but who for many years was actively associated 
with farming interests in Jefferson county, was born in Pittsfield, Ver- 
luont, m i8j6, and came to Jefferson county with his father in boyhood 
days. 

Ira Sylvester, his ancestor, was born in ^^ermont in 1769, was 
reared and educated there, and for a number of years followed farming 
at Pittsfield. In 1833 he came with his family to Clayton, New York, 
making the journey with an ox-team and sleigh, in which he brought 
all of his household goods. He was accompanied by his wife and their 
six children, who traveled in a covered sleigh, and it required two 
weeks to make the journey. 

Ira Svlvester, Sr., the father of Ira Syh-ester, was born in Pitts- 
field, Vermont, in 1798, and in 1833 came to Jefferson county, New 
^'ork. settling upon a farm near the present home of his son Ira, but 
nn the opiX)site side of the road. He first purchased a small tract of 
land, which he cleared, placing it in cultivable condition. He built a 
log house, and with characteristic energy began the development and 
improvement of his place, to which he added as his financial resources 
increased until he was the owner of one hundred acres of good land. 
He continued to make his home thereon until his death, which occurred 
in 1874, when he was seventy-eight years of age. He married Lucy 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 4(i7 

Davis, who was born m 1796, and died in 1875. -^^ 'he age of seventy- 
nine years. They were the parents of seven children, among whom 
were Delia, who is the widow of Hiram Dewey and now resides in 
Rochester, New York; Marilla, the wife of Orin Mason of Fond du 
Lac, Wisconsin; Isaac, who married Carrie Flansburgh, and now resides 
in Cooperstown, Otsego county. New York, and Mary Lucy Adelaide, 
deceased. 

Ira Sylvester accompanied his parents on their removal from Ver- 
mont to Jefiferson county, and has since lived in Clayton. In his youth 
he assisted in the work of the fields, remaining at home until twenty-one 
j'ears of age, when he went upon the lakes as a sailor. He sailed for 
five years, and then returned to Jefiferson county. About this time he 
purchased a farm of eighty-seven acres not far from his father and 
upon the same road, and at once began to clear the tract and make it 
ready for the plow. As the years went by he continued the work of 
cultivation and impro\'ement, and now owns two valuable farms of one 
hundred and eighty acres. His land is valuable, and his attention has 
been given to the culti\'ation of the cereals best adapted to the soil 
and climate, and also to the dairy business. For the latter purpose he 
now keeps twenty cows. His life has been busy and useful, and his con- 
tinuous effort in the line of agricultural pursuits has resulted in making 
him one of the substantial and prosperous citizens of his community. 

Mr. Sylvester built his present residence in 1852. and in the same 
year he was married to Miss Achsa Dixon. Her grandfather. Robert 
Dixon, came to Jefferson county as a pioneer, located on a farm, andi 
for some years continued in active connection with agricultural pursuits 
here. He then went west, locating at Grand Haven, Michigan, where 
he died at the age of seventy-four years. Her father, Hannibal Dixon, 
was reared in Orleans. New York, was an agriculturist, and spent his 
entire life upon a farm. He died at the comparatively early age of 
thirty years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Lois Greenleaf, 
was born in Ellisburg, New York, and was a daughter of Dr. Chris- 
topher Greenleaf. who was a practicing physician of Lafargeville, where 
he died. His wife, who in her maidenhood was Tabitha Dickinson, was 
also born in Ellisburg, and her death occurred in Geneva, New York. 
She reared a large family, but all are now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Hannibal Dixon were born five children, of whom three are living: 
Mrs. Alonzo Hurd, who now resides in Utica, New York; Mrs. Syl- 
vester; and Elwin, who resides in Lafargeville. The mother died at 



468 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

the age of seventy-nine years, having long survived her husband. Both 
were members of the Presbyterian church. 

Mr. and Mrs. S>-Ivester became the parents of four children. Nettie, 
the eldest, is the wife of Fred H. Patterson, of Watertown, and they 
have two children, Ira and Georgiana. Charles occupies the old Syl- 
vester homestead, opposite his father's farm. He married Alice Bab- 
cock, and they have three children. Elwin. Fannie and Willie. George 
Elwin. the third member of the family, is a practicing physician at 
Black river. After attending the common schools of Clayton and the 
.\dams Collegiate Institute of Adams. New York, he 1>ecame a student 
of medicine in the office of Drs. H. G. P. and J. D. Spencer, of Water- 
town, while later he continued his preparation for the profession in the 
medical department of the University of ^lichigan and Bellevue Hos- 
pital Medical College. He was for a time assistant physician in the 
Outdoor Poor Department of Bellevue Hospital, and on resigning that 
position entered upon the private practice of medicine at Black River. 
He married Minnie E. Vincent, and has three children — -Bula A.. Nettie 
G.. and W. Boyd. William Sylvester, who was a cheesemaker and made 
his home with his father, died in 1890. at the age of thirty-six years. 

Ira Sylvester gave his early political support to the Democratic 
party, but has lo.ng been a stanch Republican. He takes an active inter- 
est in community affairs looking to the welfare of his town and county, 
is a member of the Grange, and has held the office of overseer for a 
number of years. He attends the Congregational church, and is a 
most highly respected citizen of his community. 

CAPTAIN J. A. TAYLOR, a resident of Clayton, Jefferson 
county, New York, who x-aliantly fought and suffered while defending 
the honor of his country during the long and terrible period of the 
civil war, is a man of great public spirit, far-sighted and sagacious in 
his judgment, and a representative of the men of energy and enterprise 
who have been instrumental in transforming Murray Hill Park into 
the beautiful spot it is to-day. He was born in Gananoque. Ontario, 
Canada. October 3. 1824, a .son o{ Benjamin and Sarah (Rosbeck) 
Taylor. 

Benjamin Taylor (father) was a native of Poughkeepsie, New 
York, spent his childhood. bo\hood and a portion of his young man- 
liood in that vicinity, and upon attaining the age of twenty-five years 
he removed to Gananoque, Canada, where he assisted for a short period 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 469 

of time in the cultivation and operation of a farm which was the prop- 
erty of his father-in-law, Dr. Rosbeck, after which he devoted his atten- 
tion to the operation of a ferry. For a number of _\'ears he served in 
the capacity of constable of the village. Benjamin Taylor and his wife, 
Sarah (Rosbeck) Taylor, a native of Gananoque, and daughter of Dr. 
Rosebeck, were the parents of the following named children, all of whom 
are deceased luit Captain Taylor — Sarah Ann. Josiah. J- A., and Ben- 
jamin. The father of these children died at the age of thirty-six \ears. 
His widow then became the wife of Daniel Maxon. and six children 
were the issue of this union — Mary, wife of Major Reynolds, of Texas : 
Martha, deceased; Marion, who resides in Michigan; Marshman, a 
resident of Indiana ; Malcolm, deceased ; and Matthew, a resident of 
Three Rivers, Michigan. The mother of these children, who was an 
active member of the Methodist Episcopal church, died at the age of 
seventy-two }'ears. 

Captain Taylor came to the United States at the age of twelve 
years, acquired his educational advantages in a log school house, and 
in his nineteenth year engaged as captain of a small boat plying between 
Kingston and the Bay of Ouinte for the purpose of carrying wood and 
timljer. In those early days a part of the duty of the captain was to 
find a market for his cargo, therefore it required a man of good busi- 
ness ability and enterprise to fill the position capably. For a number 
of years he was captain of the "Hornet," but later commanded a larger 
vessel which carried lumber to Oswego and other points. In 1847 'i<^ 
erected a saw-mill which he conducted until 1861. and one of his orders 
during this period was for four hundred thousand feet of lumber for 
the construction of the plank road between Charlotte and Rochester. 
New York. In 186 1 Captain Taylor foresaw, as he believed, a profita- 
ble investment in what was then known as Hemlock Island, which, 
although consisting of three hundred and fifty acres, was considered of 
little value. This he purchased for one hundred and fifty dollars and 
a shot gun, and at once set about forming a stock company, which he 
accomplished, and was subsequently elected vice-president of the same. 
The island was surveyed and carefully laid out into eighteen hundred 
building lots. One of the energetic spirits of the company was Mr. A. 
Corbin, and in company with him Captain Taylor erected a number of 
cottages for summer residence. These cottages were soon occupied, 
streets were laid out and graded, and many improvements made. 

This continued up to 1894 when a company was formed for the 



470 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

l)uil(ling of a dock to accommodate the steamers which phed upon the 
river, and this company also began the erection of a hotel 312 feet 
long.' 54 feet wide and three stories high. After some months it was 
completed, was handsomely furnished, has accommodations for two 
hundred and fifty guests, and is now known as the Alurray Hill Hotel. 
This island is now one of the attractive summer resorts of the far 
famous Thousand Islands of the St. Lawrence. Utilizing his early 
knowledge of the St. Lawrence river, and believing that, if properly 
built, a boat might be run through many of the narrow channels which 
up to this time had been practically closed to the larger craft, Captain 
Taylor, in 187 1, went to Buf¥alo. New York, and purchased the "R. P. 
Shoecratt." and, taking into partnership Charles and John Walton, he 
operated this boat on the St. Lawrence, among the various islands and 
intricate channels, and carried sight-seers over a route which up to this 
time had never been traversed by any boat. After using this boat two 
years they purchased a second one known as the "Needle Gun," both of 
which they operated on the ^ame course up to 1890, when he was 
appointed custom house nflicer at Thousand Island Park, whereupon 
he sold his ijoats. The route which Captain Taylor established is still 
covered bv small boats Iniilt for the purpose, and is admitted by all 
who hn\'e enjoved it as the most wonderful trip ever made on any body 
of water. 

In 1 86 1 Captain Taylor enlisted in Company I, Tenth Regiment 
New York Heavy Artillery, as first "lieutenant, which position he filled 
in a creditable manner until 1863. when he resigned. When this regi- 
ment was ordered to the front two companies were left behind and 
Company I, in command of Captain Taylor, was ordered to Fort Grebell, 
on IMaryland Heights, in the defense of Washington, where he relieved 
Captain John T. Standing and the Fifth New York Artillery. All 
property was turned over to Captain Taylor, and he remained in com- 
mand of this fort for three months, when the remainder of the regi- 
ment arrived. The receipts which he received for the property which 
he turned over at that time are still in his possession and are very highly 
prized. In 1864 he was instrumental in forming Company B of the 
One Hundred and Eighty-sixth Regiment, in which he enlisted as 
second lieutenant. This regiment was recruited principally in Jefferson 
and Lewis counties, and was mustered into service September 8. 1864. 
It went nut nine hundred and eighty strong, lost one hundred and 
thirtv in killed and wounded, one hundred and twenty by disease and 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 4T1 

discliarge, and retunietl with seven Inmdred and thirty. He was in 
the battle of Sonth Side Raih-oad, October 27, 1864; formed part of 
\Varren"s command in his raid to Nottoway, December 10, 1864; and 
was highly comphmented by its brigade and division commanders for 
tlie gahantry shown in its charge on Fort Mahone; was present at the 
terrible mine explosion, and was among the first to enter the rebel 
fortifications a1* Petersburg, April 2, 1865; finally joined in the pursuit 
and capture of General Lee, and was present at the surrender at 
Appomattox. This regiment enlisted at Sacketts Harbor for a period of 
one year, and was mustered out in accordance with orders from the 
War Department on June 2, 1865. 

After the close of the war Captain Taylor conducted a saw-mill 
at Alexandria Bay with Messrs. Sisson and Fox until 1872, achieving 
a large degree of success in this enterprise. He is the owner of a one 
hundred and eighty acre farm in Orleans county. New York, devoted 
to general farming purposes, and is also largely interested in real estate 
throughout the county. He erected a handsome residence in the town 
of Clayton, in 1878, and is one of the prominent men of the com- 
munity, and for three years served as excise commissioner. He is a 
member of the Congregational church, and his political affiliations are 
with the Republican party. He is an honored member of Alexandria 
Bay Lodge, No. 196, Free and Accepted Masons; chief templar o£ the 
Order of Good Templars of Thousand Island Park, and the com- 
mander of Albert Thomas Post, No. 410, Grand Army of the Republic, 
which oiifice he has filled for the past five years. Captain Taylor was 
one of five representatives to go from Clayton to the national encamp- 
ment of the Grand Army of the Republic held at Boston, Massachu- 
setts, in August, 1904, and although eighty-two years of age was the 
onlv one of the five to march over the entire route. 

In 1850 Captain Taylor married Julia A. Cornwell, of Oswego, a 
daughter of Tracy and Catherine (Armstrong) Cornwell. Mr. and 
Mrs. Cornwell were the parents of three children: Julia A., wife of 
Captain Taylor: Olive, wife of Elisha Garrison, of Seattle, Washing- 
ton : and George Cornwell. yirs. Cornwell died at the age of seventy- 
four years. Two children were born to Captain Taylor and his wife: 
]\Irs. C. C. Pierce, of Fine View Hotel; and Ada J., who became the 
wife of Dr. Maxson. of Bay City, Michigan, a dentist of note. Mrs. 
Maxson died, leaving one daughter, Minnie A. Maxson, who has been 
brought up in the home of her grandparents. Captain and Mrs. Taylor, 



472 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

since her iiifanc}-. She is a young lady of rare intellectual attainments, 
possesses a most amiable disposition which has won for her the esteem 
of a host of friends in the village, and is the sunshine of the household 
and a great comfort to both Captain Taylor and his wife in their declin- 
ing years. 

SPENCER. The Spencer family traces its ancestry through a 
long line to England and extends to the ninth generation in this 
country. The family resided long in Stotfold, Bedfordshire, Eng- 
land, near the seat of the noble house of Spencer and the name 
is supposed to have been derived from the fact that its members 
were stewards or dispensers from the time of William the Conqueror. 
It has furnished three generations of able and distinguished physicians 
and surgeons in Jefferson county, beginning with Dr. Gordon P. Spen- 
cer, a surgeon at Sackets Harbor and Lundy's Lane in the war of 
1 8 12, and a pioneer physician in Champion, where he settled immedi- 
ately after that struggle. The plain virtues of the Puritan fathers are 
preserved in the lives of present bearers of the name. 

(1) Michael Spencer and his wife, Elizabeth, residing in Stot- 
fold, had four sons and two daughters, namely: Richard, Thomas, 
John, Gerard, Catherine and a daughter whose name has not been pre- 
served, though she had descendants. Her daughter Elizabeth married 
a Terry, a vintner. 

(H) Gerard (or Jarrard), fourth son of Michael and Elizabeth 
Spencer, was baptized May 20, 1576, at Stotfold, and died before March 
17' 1645. He and his wife, Alice, were parents of four sons and a 
daughter — William. Gerard, Michael, Thomas and Elizabeth. All of 
the sons except Michael came to this country about 1631. 

(HI) William, son of Gerard and Alice Spencer, was baptized Oc- 
tober II, 1601, at Stotfold. He was at Cambridge (then Newtown), 
Massachusetts, in 163 1-2, and was a member of the first general court 
of the colony, at Boston, and of most subsequent ones until his removal 
from Massachusetts, lie was a lieutenant of the first military company 
and cue of the founders of the "Ancient and Honorable Artillery Com- 
pany," which is still in existence. Removing to Hartford, with the 
founders of the Connecticut River Colony, he was one of the committee 
of three to revise the laws of that body, in 1639, being at that time 
a re])resentative in the general court. He was also a selectman in that 
year. He died in 1640. His wedding occurred somewhere about 1633, 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 473 

and iiis wife. Agnes, is supposed to have been a daughter of Rev. :\Jr. 
VVakeman. A.fter his death she married William Edwards, another 
pioneer settler of Hartford. \\'i]liani Spencer's children were: Samuel, 
Sarah and Elizabeth. 

(IV) Samuel, only son of William and Agnes S.jcucer. died about 
1716. sur\i\-ing some ten years his wife Sarah, who passed away April 
24, J 706. Tlieir children were: Samuel, Sarah, Hannah. Elizabeth. 
Rachel, Mary. Abigail and Agnes. 

(V) Samuel, only son and eldest child of Samuel Spencer (1), 
lived first at Hartford and later in Colchester, spending his last days in 
Bolton, all of Connecticut, and died at the last-named place, March 26, 
1748, in the eightieth year of his age. He married Hepzibah Church, 
a daughter of Deacon Edward Church, of Hatfield, Massachusetts, the 
latter a son of Richard Church, one of the first settlers at Hartford. 
Connecticut. Mrs. Hepzibah Spencer died September 13, 1745, in her 
sixty-sixth year, and \vas buried at Bolton, where the bones of her hus- 
band also lie. They were the parents of seven sons and two daughters. 
The first died in his hfth year, and the fourth received the same name- 
William. 

(ViJ Job. sixth son and eighth child of Samuel and Hepzibah 
Spencer, was born in 1722. He lived in Bolton, East Haddam and, last, 
in Salisbury, Connecticut, dying at the latter place, February 20, 1800 
ivi his sevent3'-eightli year. He was married, November 13, 1746, to 
Rebecca Chapman, daughter of Jabez Chapman, Esquire, of East Had- 
dam. She was born May 16, 1725, and died July 22, 1792, in Salis- 
bury, aged sixty-seven )'ears. She was the mother of four sons and four 
daughters. 

(VH) Eliphaz, third son and third child of Job and Rebecca 
Spencer, was born March 23, 1752. in East Haddam. and died June 
8, 1833. in Salisbury, aged eighty-one years. He married Statira. daugh- 
ter of Thomas and Margaret Hall, of East Haddam. in 1777. She was 
born June 19, 1755, and survived her husband only three months, pass- 
ing awav September 12, 1833, in Salisbury. Their children were: Ach- 
sab, Gurdon (died in seventh year), Lovina. Gurdon P. and Statira. 

Eliphaz Spencer participated in the Revolutionary war and won 
honor and distinction by his heroic conduct on the field of battle. He 
was a farmer by occupation, one of the thrifty and enterprising settlers 
of the New England states. Statira Spencer was a lady of wordi, de- 



iU GENEALOGICAL AXD FAMILY HISTORY. 

r'w'uv^ from family position that iiiHiience which, joined with personal 
ac(|nirenicnt, gave great weight to her character. 

(VIII) Dr. Gordon P. Spencer, son of Eliphaz and Statira Spen- 
cer, was born in Salisbury, Litchfield county Connecticut, April 29, 1789, 
and in er.rfy life received private instructions from Rev. Joseph CrosS' 
man, of Salisbury, and afterward from Ammi L. Robbins, of Norfolk, 
Connecticut. In 1807 he became a student in Williams College, Will- 
iamstown, Massachusetts, and was graduated w^ith honors in that in- 
stitution. Determining to make the practice of medicine his life work, 
he then began studying under the tutelage of Dr. North, of Goshen, 
Connecticut, while later the famous Dr. Lee, of New London, Connecti- 
cut was his preceptor, and he obtained his diploma from the Medical 
Society of New London in 1812. In that year the second war with Great 
Britain was inaugurated and he offered his services to the home govern- 
ment, obtaining a commission from General Armstrong, the secretary 
of war, to enter the army as a surgeon. He was ordered to report to 
the colonel of the Eleventh Infantry Regiment. He was with his com- 
mand from that time until after the cessation of hostilities and was an 
active participant in the campaign in Canada, including the battles of 
Lundy's Lane and Chippewa and Sacket's Harbor. On the 6th of July, 
1814, he wrote to his parents: "Yesterday was fought at Lundy's Lane 
a battle desperate and sanguinary as any recorded in the annals of the 
old world. Although I have fully attested my skill in surgery, with al- 
most miraculous success, still I find myself wanting in words to portray 
my feelings while witnessing the horrors of the scene. I dressed the 
wounds of two British officers, who during the whole time loaded me with 
imprecation, protesting that death was preferable to capture." Soon 
after the blowing up of Fort Erie the army w-ent into winter quarters 
and Dr. Spencer was engaged in active duty in the hospital at Sackets 
Harbor. He was on his way to his native state after the close of the 
war when he was called to assist Dr. Durkee, of Champion, in a surgical 
operation, and there he made arrangements whereby he entered into a 
partnership with Dr. Durkee, after he had visited his parents and sisters 
at home. Returning to Champion he practiced with Dr. Durkee for 
some time. His professional duties called him into Lewis, Oneida, Os- 
wego and St. Lawrence counties and Canada. He w^as most devoted to 
his profession, which gave him ample opportunity to exercise his hu- 
manitarian and benevolent spirit. He answered the call of the poor as 
rendilv as he did that of the rich, even though he knew that no remuner- 




^^Xl^.^c:^^^-u^ 



I 




^ 




GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. ^T5 

ation would be received in compensation for his services. His were the 
experiences of a country physician who in a newly settled district travels 
miles and miles, undergoing many hardships and sacrifices in order to 
alleviate human suffering and minister to the physical needs of his fellow- 
n^en. So arduous were his duties, as the good physician, that much of his 
sleep was obtained in the saddle while borne along the roads by his faith- 
ful horse. On one occasion this trusty animal carried him across the Black 
river at Great Bend, in the night, walking on the center stringer of 
the bridge, the planking having been taken up for some repairs. His old 
accounts show over four thousand names and over thirty thousand dol- 
lars in uncollected fees. He continued a resident of Champion for forty- 
two years. Di. Spencer through all the varied conditions of a country 
practice enjoyed excellent health until 1854, when he suffered from a 
fever that prevented his engaging in active professional duties for four 
months. When he had recovered he felt that the condition of his health 
would not permit him to again enter upon the work which he had pre- 
viously endured. In the summer of 1857 he removed to Watertown, 
where his death occurred March 25, 1859. He had always been deeply 
interested in the cause of education, was a strong advocate of a public 
school system and was actively identified with its promotion. For years 
he hired 'teachers for the select school at Champion, guaranteeing to 
them a certain liberal compensation and obligating himself to supply any 
deficiency that remained after the payment of the tuition fee of the pu- 
pils. He was a strong believer in Christianity, and his religious faith 
was one of the permeating influences in his life. 

In 181 5 Dr. Spencer married Miss Deborah Mallery, of Rutland, 
this county, daughter of Deacon Amos Mallery (formerly of Wood- 
bury, Litchfield county, Connecticut), and sister of the noted jurist, 
Judge Garrick Mallery, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. and Mrs. 
Spencer became the parents of four sons. Ambrose, the eldest, spent 
many years on a sugar plantation in Hawaii, and died in California. 
Extended mention of Henry G. P., the second, follows this paragraph. 
Gustavus died while a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. George 
Eliphaz rose to the rank of brigadier general in the Civil war, Avas after- 
ward United States senator from Alabama, and died in Washington, 
D. C. 

(IX) Henrj' Gordon Percival Spencer, second S(3n of Dr. Gordon 
F. and Deborah (Mallery) Spencer, was born August 21, 1821, in 
Champion, and had the benefit of the best educational facilities of Jef- 



476 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

ferson county. Pursuing- his medical preparation at the Jefferson INIed- 
ical College, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he was graduated in the 
class of 1846, and in 1849 settled m Watertown, where he continued to 
reside and pursue his calling until death cut short a career of great use- 
fulness, in the midst of his greatest popularity and ability. By his skill 
and industry he gained an extensive practice and won an enviable repu- 
tation ariiong his associates in the profession. About 1866 he per- 
formed a remaikable cure in the case of a boy named Ste\ens, at Low- 
ville, whose thigh bone had become diseased. After removing eleven 
inches of the femur. Dr. Spencer succeeded in healing up the wound, 
with only a slight shortening of the limb. Soon after he again injured 
th.e same limb in wrestling, causing two inches more shortening, and 
then made a perfect recovery. In 1872, with the assistance of his son. 
Dr. James D. Spencer, Dr. H. G. P. Spencer removed from a woman 
in Theresa an ovarian tumcM" weighing eighty-one pounds, and the pa- 
tient recovered fully. This was the first operation of the kind in north- 
ern New York, and its success served to increase the fame of father and 
son as surgeons. Dr. Spencer was ever ready to help the suffering, and 
was one of the thirty Volunteer Aid Surgeons of the state during the 
Civil war, to assist the regular army surgeons in caring for the wounded 
after great battles. His commission in this work was issued by Go\-ernor 
Horatio Seymour, and countersigned by Surgeon General S. V. P. 
Quackenbush, under date of September 3, 1863. Dr. Spencer was called 
to the field of Fredericksburg, and spent se\eral days in treating those 
wounded in that sanguinary engagement. 

Dr. H. G. P. Spencer was married, in March, 1848, to Emily An- 
toinette, daughter of James Decker, of Troy, New York (see Decker). 
Five children were given to Dr. Spencer ami wife, three of whom are 
living. A sketch of James D., the eldest, follows. Ada Antoinette is 
the widow of Ephraim FT. Myers, residing in Watertown. Gordon P.. 
a graduate of Bellevue Hospital ^Medical College, of New York, is en- 
gaged in practice in Watertown. The father died June 27, 1899. and 
his wife passed away April 11, 1903. 

(X) Dr. James Decker Spencer, son of Dr. H. G. P. Spencer, an 
eminent gynecologist and surgeon, of Watertown, was born April 14, 
at the home of his maternal grandfather, in Denmark, Lewis county, 
New York. His prnnary education was supplied by the public schools, 
and he pursued his studies at the Jefferson County Literary Institute, 
of Watertown, and Phillips E.xeter Academy, of New Hampshire. His 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 477 

medical training was obtained at Bellevue Hospital Medical College, 
New York, from which noted institution he was graduated in 1870. 
His preceptor was the late Professor James R. Wood, M. D., one of the 
founders of that college, and, through his interest in his student, Dr. 
Spencer was privileged to witness or assist in many of the difficult opera- 
tions performed by Dr. J. Marian Sims, who is regarded as the father 
of gynecology. Through this training the young surgeon was ready to 
take a place beside his father in practice at once, and he became the 
partner of the latter in April, 1870, at Watertown. In that day many 
instruments now in constant u«e were unheard of, and the practice in 
this region compelled the surgeon often to fashion or direct the shaping 
of instruments for immediate use or adaptation. The first operation in 
tracheotouiv in this county was performed by Dr. James D. Spencer, 
upon a child almost dead with croup. By the aid of a jeweler of the city 
he succeeded in adapting an instrument made for another purpose to 
the use of this patient, who is living and sound to-day. Dr. Spencei 
was the first to introduce the use of chloroform in obstetrics in northern 
New York, and was .severely criticised at first by those who subsecjuently 
conceded its \alue and adopted its use. He rapidly built u]) a large gen- 
eral practice, and is called upon in many difficult surgical cases, and as 
a specialist in gynecological work. He acts as the consulting physician 
of Saint Joachim's and House-of-the-Good-Samaritan Hospitals, and 
president of the Medical Board of the latter hospital. He is a member 
of the Medical Society of the state of New York, and was its president 
in 1896; is a member of the Jefferson County Medical Society, of the 
Pan-American Medical Congress, of the American Health Association 
and a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine. The manly in- 
tegrity, the large heart and kindly sympathy, no less than the thorough 
preparation and practiced skill of Dr. Spencer, have contributed in mak- 
ing him the popular and successful practitioner he is. 

In 1872 Dr. Spencer was commissioned by the late John A. Di.\, 
governor of the state, as surgeon of the Thirty-fifth Regiment New 
York State National Guard, with the rank of major, and he acceptably 
filled that position until the regiment was disbanded. He is affiliated with 
Watertown Commandery No. 11, Knights Templar, as well as the Ma- 
sonic bodies subordinate to it, and with Media Temple, Nobles of the 
Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the Transportation Club of New 
York city, and the Lincoln League, of Watertown, an organization lim- 
ited to Republicans., 



478 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

On October 31. 1877, Dr. Spencer was married to Frances E. 
Phelps, daughter of the late George B. Phelps (see Phelps, X). Four 
of the five children born to Dr. and Mrs. Spencer are living, namely : 
George Phelps, Henrj' Percival. Sally Louise and Garrick Mallery. The 
family holds membership in the Presbyterian church. Mrs. Spencer 
established the first kindergarten in Watertown, and is ever trying to 
secure the bests interests of the young. She organized the Watertown 
Cadets, composed of thirty boys between the ages of fourteen and eight- 
een years, supplied all the equipments, furnished and distributed medals 
for meritorious conduct and, in fact, performed all the labor attached 
to the society, with the exception of drilling its members. It is now a 
body of well disciplined boys, and a credit to the city of Watertown. 

PHELPS. This is a name which has long been distinguished in 
the military, commercial, diplomatic and religious annals of this country, 
and its representatives in Jefferson county have maintained the prestige 
established b)' a long line of worthy ancestors. 

(I) The first of whom authentic record appears was James Phelps, 
born abouf 1520, at Tewksbury. Gloucestershire, England. On May 10, 
1588, commission was issued to his relict. Joan Phelps, to administer 
his goods and chattels. His children were baptized in Tewksbury 
Abbey church, as follows: William. August. 1560; Thomas, August 
10. 1563; George, September 5, 1566: Alice. December 24, 1572; Ed- 
ward, May 10, 1578; Kenelm. October 16. 1580: Richard, October 16, 
1583; "Robert, July 18, 1584. 

(H) William, first child of James and Joan Phelps, born at 
Tewksbur}', lived and died there. September 28. 161 1, Dorothy Phelps, 
his widow, was commissioned to administer his estate. He probably 
died in that year, and his widow passed away in 1613. Their children 
were baptized in Tewksbury Abbey church as follows: Mary, Sep- 
tember 4, 1587: ^lary (2), .\i)ri] jt,. 1388; Thomas. June 24. 1590; 
Dorothy, February 29. 1595: William. August 19, 1599; James. July 
14, 1601; Elizabeth, May 9, 1603: George. 1606. 

(HI) William Phelps, fifth child and second son of \\'illiam and 
Dorothv Phelps, born, probablv. in 1599, was a member of the sul>- 
stantial party which sailed from Plymouth, England, March 20. 1630, 
on the ship Mary and John, intending to settle on the Charles river, in 
Massachusetts. In that year not less than seventeen vessels arrived in 
New England, bringing from 1,600 to 1,700 immigrants. The company 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 479 

which came on the JMarv and Jolm was organized into a church on 
the day before saiHng from Plymouth, under the leadership of Revs. 
John Maverick and John Warham. Through a misunderstanding with 
their skipper, Captain Squela, they were set ashore at Nantasket (now 
Hull), Massachusetts, an act for which Squeb was afterward made to 
pay damages. The company included several gentlemen past middle 
age, or with good estate, and among these was William Phelps. His 
brother George was among the younger men, who were depended on 
for their strength and ability. Three military men were also included, 
to guard against dangers from the Indians. On account of their loca- 
tion in the wilderness, remote from other settlers, there was consid- 
erable suffering the following winter, through scarcity of food. This 
was partially relieved by shipments from Holand and Ireland, and by 
purchase of corn from the red men. 

William Phelps was accompanied by his wife and six children, 
and the company included one hundred and forty souls. This party 
settled at Dorchester, being founders of that town, which claims the 
honor of l^eing first to organize a town government in the Massachu- 
setts colony. William Phelps was made a freeman in October, 1630, 
and took a prominent part in public affairs. In November, 1630, he 
was a member of the first jury employed in a trial in New England. 
In September of the following year he was chosen constable, an office 
of much importance under the system then in vogue. In 1634 he was 
delegate to the general court, and again in 1635. He was frequently 
a member of committees to settle boundaries between towns. In the 
last-named year his wife died, and he joined the expedition in the fall, 
under Rev. Warham, to make a settlement at Windsor, Connecticut. 
This party included sixty from Dorchester, and two weeks were con- 
sumed in the journey, with women, children and cattle, through the 
unbroken wiklerness. Mr. Phelps was a member of the commission 
of seven persons apjiointed to govern the ne\\- colony, which was sup- 
posed to be under Massachusetts jurisdiction. This plantation was 
called Dorchester until 1637, when it was named Windsor. The first 
court was held by the commission April 26, 1636. Mr. Phelps presided 
at the meeting. May i, 1637. when war was declared against the Pe- 
quots. In 1639 Windsor joined with Hartford and Wethersfield in 
forming a government for the Connecticut colony, and William Phelps 
was one of the five magistrates constituting the upper house, with legis- 
lative, judicial and executive powers, from 1639 to 1643, 1645 to 1649, 



480 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

and 1656 to 1662. The government was changed in 1665. He was 
deputy in 1651, and was frequently on committees to locate boundaries 
and attend to many public concerns. In 1675 he was assessed in the 
second "grade," those having one horse and two oxen. The land rec- 
ords show that he bought and sold much land, and according to Stiles' 
History of Windsor, "He was one of the most prominent and highly- 
respected men in the colony — an excellent, pious and upright man in 
his public and private life, and was truly a pillar in Church and State." 
For his second wife he married Mary Dover, an English lady who 
came on the same vessel and was a member of the Dorchester and Wind- 
sor churches. She bore him two children. He died in Windsor, July 
14, 1672, and his widow passed away November 27, 1675. Mr. Phelps' 
children, by the first wife, were: Richard, born at Tewksbury, Eng- 
land, went to Barbadoes and no further record of him appears ; William, 
born in England about 1620: Sarah, born about 1623; Samuel, 1625; 
Nathaniel, 1627; Joseph. 1629. Children of second wife — Mary Dover: 
Timothy, born September i, 1637, and Mary, March 2, 1644, in Wind- 
sor. 

(IV) Timothv, youngest son and seventh cliild of William 
Phelps, was his father's successor on the homestead in Windsor, pur- 
chased from the Indians. He was made a freeman May 2, 1664, and 
in May, 1690, was chosen lieutenant in the "Trained Band," and pro- 
moted to captain six years later. In 1695 he went to the "Great Falls" 
in Massachusetts, against the Indians, having then the rank of sergeant 
in the colonial troops. The general court commissioned him lieutenant 
in 1707, under Colonel William Whiting, in Captain Matthew Allyn's 
Company, in Queen Anne's war. He died in 1719. March 19, 1661, he 
married Mary, daughter of Edward Griswold, of Killingworth, Con- 
necticut. She was born in Windsor and baptized October 13, 1644. 
She died some years before her husband. Their children were: Tim- 
othy, born November i, 1663: Joseph, September 27, 1666; William, 
February 4, 1669; Cornelius. April 26. 167 1 : Mary, August 14, 1673; 
Samuel, January 29, 1675: Nathaniel, January 7, 1677; Sarah, De- 
cember 27, 1679; Abigail, June 3, 1682; Hannah, August 2, 1684; 
Anne, October 2, 1686: Martha, November 12, 1688. 

(V) William, third son and child of Timothy and Mary Phelps, 
settled in Windsor, where he died in 1733. He married (first) Abigail 
Mudge. who died April 24. 1705; (second) Ruth Barber, April 18, 
1706. She was born July 24, 1683, in Windsor, daughter of Samuel 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 481 

and Mary (Coggens) Barber, and died August 2, 1747. His children 
were: William, born March 16, 1702; Ebenezer, April 2, 1705; Caleb, 
January 11, J708: Jacob, January 18, 1711 ; Ruth, January 23, 1713. 

(VI) Ebenezer, second son of William and Abigail Phelps, was 
a farmer in Windsor, and earned his title of ensign in the French war 
'" 1775- He died in Windsor, September 22d of that year. December 
7, 1727, he married Mindwell Eggleston, born in Windsor November 
24, 1703, and died there. She was a daughter of Thomas and Grace 
(Moore) Eggleston, the former a son of James and grandson of Begat 
Eggleston, the last-named of the Dorchester company of 1630. Eight 
children were born to Ebenezer and Mindwell Phelps, as follows : Mind- 
well, December 3, 1728 (died 1736); Abigail, December 29, 1731; 
Ebenezer, November 18, 1735 (died young); Agnes, July 25, 1738; 
Ebenezer. April 30, 1741: Sarah. July 3, 1744; Lucy, September 21, 
1747- 

(Vn) Lieutenant Ebenezer, son of Ensign Ebenezer Phelps, was 
a farmer in Simsbury, Connecticut, where his children were born, and. 
spent his last years with his children in Westfield, Massachusetts, where 
he died March 27, 1806. His gravestone is in the Westfield old bui-y- 
ing ground. He served in the Revolution, and was a lieutenant in 
the second company of Wadsworth"s brigade, under Captain Ellis. He 
was married May 12. 1760, to Susannah Leavitt, and they had nine 
children, namely: Agnes, born October 5, 1761 ; Susannah, August 
22, 1762; Ebenezer, July 27, 1^64; Oliver, April 20, 1765; Eber, twin 
of Oliver; Lois. 1767, died in infancy; Bishop, baptized May 30, 1767 
(probably died young) ; Horace. March 4, 1769: Ruth, 1772. 

(Vni) Horace, youngest son and eighth child of Lieutenant 
Ebenezer and Susannah Phelps, lived in Suffield and Granby. Connec- 
ticut, West Springfield, Westfield, Springfield and Easthampton, Mas- 
sachusetts, dying in the latter place February 12, 1848. He was mar- 
ried May 2, 1792, to Mary Rice, who was born January 30, 1777, and 
died June i, 1846, in Springfield, Massachusetts. Their children num- 
bered eleven, as follows: Horace, born November 20, 1793, in Suffield; 
Lester, August 11. 1795, in Granby; Mary. February 20, 1798; Nancy, 
March 17, 1801 ; Eliza, August 27, 1804; Willis, February 25, 1806; 
Jane, October 6, 1808; Horace, February 29, 1812, in Springfield, died 
1816; Almira, July 27, 1814, in Westfield: Horace, November 18, 1817, 
in Springfield; George Washington. October 27, 1820, in West Spring- 
field. 



482 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

(IX) Lester, second son and child of Horace and Mary Phelps. 
was born August ii. 1795. in Granby, Connecticut. His wife. Keziah 
Clough. was born March 14. 1798, in Ludlow, Massachusetts, and 
was a sister of Colonel Joel B. Clough. well known in connection with 
railroad enterprises in Mississippi and Tennessee, and also with the 
great trunk lines leading to the Pacific coast. 

Early in life Lester Phelps settled in Springfield. Massachusetts, 
and in 1837 moved with his family to Mount Morris. New York, where 
he l)uilt a very handsome residence. For forty years he was prominent 
as an active business man, engaging in manufacturing and mercantile 
pursuits, and also published the village newspaper, under the editorial 
charge of his son. George Benjamin. The latter had an aptitude for 
editorial work, and the paper was a success while under his manage- 
ment. Lester Phelps was a man of great industry, upright and highly 
respected, and an uncompromising ad\"ocate of human rights. He was 
prominent in aiding all public improvements, and was chiefly instru- 
mental in establishing the union school system in Mount Morris at an 
early day. when the system was scarcely known outside of New Eng- 
land. He was greatly interested in securing railroad facilities at ]\Iount 
Morris, and when connection with the Erie Railroad was obtained he 
was made a director of the branch line which terminated at his home 
town. He was greatly attached to his church, giving it liberal support 
in his lifetime and donating to it in his will according tO' his means. 
He died at Mount Morris, April 14. 1880. sun-iving his wife almost 
four years. She passed away September 20. 1876. at her Mount Morris 
home. They had six children — Jennett. Sarah, George Benjamin. Fran- 
ces. Emma and Willis. The last-named died in childhood. 

(X) George Benjamin, elder and only adult son and third child 
of Lester and Keziah Phelps, was born July 3. 1822. in Stillwater. 
Saratoga county. New "^'ork, and died June 3, 1892, at his home in 
^\'atertown, New York. During bis infancy, the family moved to 
Springfield. Massachusetts, where his early boyhood was spent. He 
was brought up in Mount Morris, and his proper education was the 
earnest desire of his parents. At the age of nine years he was sent 
away, in company with the son of their clerg}-man. to a boarding school 
in a neighboring town. Both bo_\-s became homesick and set out on 
foot for home, within a few days, walking all the wa^■. onlv to be sent 
away again on the morning of their arrival. Soon after tliis he had a 
narrow escape fmm drowning, while traveling by canal with his father. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. -i^S 

At the cry of "boy overtoard," the latter sprang into the water, not 
knowing- that it was his own son he was saving until he had been 
brought safely out of danger. Tlie son was about eleven years old 
when his father moved to Mount Morris. 

When sixteen years old George B. Phelps traveled alone to Sjjring- 
field, Massachusetts, a long journey in those days, and there found 
employment as clerk in a store. After a few months in this situation 
he went to Boston and entered a small school at Quincy, and while 
there received compensation as a newspaper reporter. Subsequently he 
entered the classical course in the North Wilbraham Acatlemy, from 
which he graduated in 1840, at the age of eighteen years. .\t that early 
age he had developed a keen interest in current affairs, and was an 
excellent scholar. Upon graduating he returned to Mount Morris and 
became editor and manager of the Mount Morris U'liig, wdiich was 
purchased by his father for his benefit. He was later associate editor 
and manager of the Rochester Evening Post, which he sold in 1843. 
He wrote in an attractive style, and his editorials commanded wide 
and favorable attention. After disposing of the Rochester paper, he 
became a law student in the otlice of Scott Lord, who afterward became 
judge of Livingston county and, later, prominent in practice in New 
York city. Young Phelps was strongly urged by his preceptor to 
engage in practice, as his partner, and in speaking of his pupil in after 
years. Judge Lord said: "He ought to have continued in the profes- 
sion. He would have been one of the best lawyers in the country." 

The young man was extremely diffident about speaking in public, 
and, being about this time offered a fine business opportunity by his 
uncle, Willis Phelps, he accepted and abandoned the law for more con- 
genial activity. Though a good lawyer may have been lost by the 
means, an exceptionally able business man was developed. He came 
to Watertown with Phelps, Mattoon & Barnes, who were then engaged 
in building the Rome & Cape Vincent railroad, and soon became a con- 
tractor on his own account. He built that part of the Rome & Ogdens- 
burg road extending from Gouverneur to Norwood, and thus began an 
active career as a railroad builder, in which he was subsequently dis- 
tinguished. He was superintendent of the Watertown & Potsdam rail- 
road for some years before it became a part of the Rome, Watertown 
& Ogdensburg system. A large percentage of the roads constructed 
in his day were built by him, including those of his own and the New 
England states and Canada, as well as the west, and in most of them 



484 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

he was interested and took an active part in their management, after 
going- into operation. From 1852 until his death Mr. Phelps resided 
in Watertown, and was interested, financially, in many local enterprises, 
though taking an active part in only a portion of them. In 1869 he 
was made president of the Empire State Insurance Company and later 
a director of the Agricultural Insurance Company, to which he ren- 
dered valuable service as a member of its executive committee; and 
he was also instrumental in the reorganization of the Jefiferson County 
Savings Bank, in which he was a trustee over thirty-one years and 
president in 189 1. He was one of the incorporators and directors of 
the \\'atertown National Bank. 

Mr. Phelps was a lifelong adherent of the principles of the Demo- 
cratic party and could be relied upon by the active workers for assist- 
ance when needed, and was made the party nominee for mayor soon 
after the village became a city. His word in all afifairs was accepted 
as a guarantee of performance. His aid was never withheld from the 
needy and deserving. His hatred of meanness and dishonor sometimes 
made him appear austere to those who could not understand or appre- 
ciate his motives: but none had a kinder heart for those who were 
worthy, or a readier hand to assist those who won his good opinion. 

He 'married Agnes Philipson, daughter of John and Eleanor Law, 
of Brockport, New York. The five children of George B. and Agnes 
P. Phelps are all living. John Lester is a coal merchant of St. Louis, 
Missouri. Agnes Law married Dexter Van Ostrand (which see). 
Frances Eleanor is the wife of Dr. James D. Spencer (see Spencer). 
Isabella Gibson resides in Watertown, the wife of James Robertson 
]\Iiller. George Benjamin is in the general contracting business in New 
York city. He married Isabel Stanley Carter, daughter of the late 
Oliver Carter, of Orange, New Jersey. Mr. Phelps has a son. Carter 
Phelps, now thirteen years old (1904). 

ALFRED CHAPIN, a brave soldier of the civil war, now de- 
ceased, was for many years a farmer in the town of Wilna. He was 
born December 17, 1839, in Watson, Lewis county. New York. He 
was left an orphan while an infant, and was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. 
John Van Antwerp, of Watson, but the foster father after ten years 
died, and he was again adopted, in 1850, by Calvin Chapin, a farmer 
of Wilna, formerly of Leyden, Massachusetts. Mr. Chapin was born 
May II, 1787, in Leyden, and died on his farm near Natural Bridge, 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 485 

near the close of his ninetieth year, March 8, 1877. His wife, Nancy 
Wilbur, was born September 15, 1796, in Leyden, and died July 6, 
1S75. i" Wilna. Mr. and Mrs. Chapin never had natural children. 
Tiicy also reared an adopted daughter, a niece of Mrs. Chapin, Roxana 
Wilbur, who died at Green Bay. Alichigan. while the wife of a Mr. 
Rogers. 

Alfred Chapin grew up in Wilna, on a farm two miles south of the 
village of Natural Bridge, and attended the district school until he 
attained his majority. About this time, in 1862, he enlisted in Com- 
pany D, Tenth Regiment New York Heavy Artillery, and served 
through the civil war in the Army of the Potomac. The company was 
commanded by Captain S. R. Cowels, and was originally mustered as 
Company B, First Battalion, at Sacketts Harbor, September 11, 1862, 
but was soon after transferred to the Fourth Battalion. Its members 
came chiefly from the towns of Champion, Rutland and Wilna, in this 
county, and Diana and Croghan, in Lewis county. Mr. Chapin was 
of slight build, and never strong, and he was detailed as army nurse 
during the first winter, while stationed on Staten Island. The regi- 
ment served with distinction at the battles of Cold Harbor and Fisher's 
Hill and in the campaign of the James, and lost heavily in the charge 
at Petersburg, April 2, 1865. It was mustered out June 2;^, 1865. 

Returning to the arts of peace, Mr. C-hapin settled upon the farm 
where he was reared, and continued there until his death, returning the 
kindness bestowed upon him in youth by tenderly caring for his foster 
parents in their old age. He refused tempting offers to go west, and 
remained true to those who had nurtured him when helpless and alone. 
He was an industrious and successful farmer, whose life was shortened 
by the exposures and hardships incident to military service. He passed 
away April 22, 1900, in his sixty-first year. For over thirty years he 
had been a class leader of the Methodist church at Natural Bridge, and 
was also a member of E. B. Steele Post, No. 262, Grand Army of the 
Republic, at Carthage. He was a sound Republican in political principle, 
but never accepted any office save that of trustee of the local school, in 
whose success he was deeply interested. 

Mr. Chapin was married December 31, 1872, to Miss Lydia Amelia 
Sperry, a native of the town of Wilna, born July 31, 1856, one mile 
from the Chapin farm, and daughter of Sheldon E. and Angeline M. 
(Shattuck) Sperry. Sheldon E. Sperry was born May 9, 1820, in 
Granby, Connecticut, son of Elijah and Lydia (Waters) Sperry. Elijah 



486 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Sperrv was a shoemaker, and reared a family of thirteen children. 
Sheldon went to Harrisburg, Lewis county. New York, when a young 
man. and was engaged in farming there, subsequently settling in Wilna. 
He was accidentally killed on October 3. 1883, by the overturning of a 
load of logs on which he was riding. He was married at Harrisburg, 
February 19. 1851, to Angeline, daughter of Abel and Amelia (Frasier) 
Shattuck. natives of Massachusetts, who were among the early settlers 
o{ Wilna. Mrs. Angeline M. Sperry was born April 20, 1824, and died 
in Wilna, September i, 1884. 

A daughter was tern to Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Chapin, who was 
christened Grace M. She graduated in 1897 from the Carthage high 
school, and was employed two years as a teacher in the Brownville high 
school. In March, 190 1, with her mother, she moved to Carthage, and 
since that time has been a teacher in the local high school. With cul- 
tured mind and gracious manners, she is a valuable addition to the social 
life of the village. 

PETER YOUSEY, a self-made man and active in the commercial 
life of Carthage and vicinity, was born on the first day of the year 1856, 
in the town of Wellesley, Waterloo county, Province of Ontario, and 
there grew to manhood. His parents were residents of Carthage long- 
ago, and went into the wilderness of Canada soon after 1846 to make 
a home. The father, John Yousey, was born in Alsace, Germany, in 
18 18. and was reared on a farm there, receiving the education common 
to that country. In early life he came to America, bringing his mother 
with him, his father being then deceased. Here he found employment 
as a farmer in the town of Croghan, Lewis county, this state, and was 
married in Carthage to Katherine Naftsier, whom he had known in his 
native land. By a previous marriage he had three children — Joseph, 
John and Elizabeth. The first is now a resident of Belfort, New York, 
and the others died while residing at Milford, Seward county. Nebraska, 
the last being the wife of Peter Erb. 

When John Yousey had paid for his land in the dense forest of 
Canada, and had transported his family thither, he had one and one- 
half dollars in money left, and his family then included four children. 
He first took up one hundred acres of land which he cleared and im- 
proved, and by his industry and good management was enabled to secure 
three hundred acres more, which he left to his heirs, all well improved. 
When he located there the entire region was a dense forest and he had 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 4^7 

no neighbors, but he hved to see it cleared and converted into a fertile 
and pleasant farmnig settlement. He helped to organize the town, and 
was a member of the local Baptist church. In politics he affiliated with 
the Reform party. He died in August, 1878, at the age of sixty years. 
His widow, who still survives and lives on the Canadian homestead, 
came to this country from Alsace with her parents, Christian and Lena 
Naftsier, who settled near Croghan. 

The eldest child of John and Katherine Yousey is Christian, who 
now resides near Jordan Falls, this state. The second, Catherine, died 
at Milford, Nebraska, while the wife of Joseph Yantze. Jacob resides 
on the parental homestead at Wellesley. Peter is further mentioned 
below. David died at Milford, Nebraska, and Menus resides near De- 
troit, Michigan. 

Peter Yousey received his education in the excellent schools of his 
home neighborhood, where superior teachers were employed, including 
some who had previously taught in Edinburgh College. After his 
father's death he tilled the home farm for some yeai^ in partnership 
with his brother. This farm they bought from the heirs, and Peter sold 
out his interest, and in 1888 came to Natural Bridge, New York, in 
response to the urgent request of a brother who had already established 
a saw mill on Indian river. From that time he has been interested in 
lumbering, though he has invested largely in other industries of late. 

Soon after coming to this state he became associated with A. E. 
Maxwell and Peter McQuillan in developing a water power and pulp 
mill at Carthage, and in 1897 they built what is known as the Island 
Paper Mill. In October, 1898, the Island Paper Company was incor- 
porated, with Mr. Yousey as vice-president, and they continued to 
operate the mill until December i, 1901, when they sold the property. 
April 25, 1902, Mr. Yousey became a member of the firm of Maxwell, 
Yousey & Maxwell, which has since engaged extensively in lumbering, 
and built a saw mill that year at Fine, St. Lawrence county, where they 
have a tract of seven thousand acres of timber land. In partnership with 
his brother and Mr. Maxwell, Mr. Yousey also owns four thousand acres 
near Jordan Falls. In 1902 he also' aided in organizing and incorporat- 
ing the New York Lime Company, of which he is treasurer and manager, 
and in the same year was made secretary of the Northwestern Telephone 
Company, in which he tlien became a stockholder. This was organized 
in 1901. He had continued to reside at Natural Bridge since coming 
to the state, until Januiiry, 1900, when he reiuoved to Carthage. In the 



488 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

following year he built his handsome residence on James street, near 
Fulton. He attends the Baptist church, and is a Republican in political 
sentiment, but has never desired to hold an office. 

. Mr. Yousey was married November 14, 1885, at W'ellesley, to Miss 
Susan Kennel, a native of that place, and daughter of Christian and 
Lena (y\lbrecht) Kennel, of German birth. One daughter completes the 
family of Mr. Yousey, namely, Ilona, born January 20, 1894. 

Christian Kennel, father of Mrs. Yousey, was a farmer in Wellesley 
Island. Christian and Lena (Albrecht) Kennel were the parents of six 
children: John, who lives in Nebraska; Barbara, wife of John Bost, 
and they reside in Wellesley: Susan, wife of Peter Yousey; Christian 
and Joseph, both of whom reside in Wellesley; Mattie, wife of John 
Leahman. and they reside in Wellesley. 

FREDERICK LEWIS HALL, a successful business man of Carth- 
age, was born January 16, 1861, in the town of Lawrence, St. Lawrence 
county. New York, where his ancestors were among the pioneer settlers. 
His father, Theodore A. Hall, was born July 24, 1834, at Malone, and 
died at Gouverneur, June 7, 1903. His mother died at his birth, and his 
father, Thomas Hall, passed away when he was a child, and he was 
reared by his maternal grandfather, Oscar Ladd. The last named was 
a son of a sailor who commanded a privateer during the war of the Re\o- 
lution, and was among the earliest to locate in northern New York, be- 
ing a native of Portland, Maine. Thomas Hall was a millwright, and 
his son inherited strongly the "Yankee" mechanical genius. 

Theodore Hall grew up in the village of Fort Jackson, in the town 
of Hopkinton, St. Lawrence county, and enjoyed the educational advan- 
tages supplied by the common schools, at least during the winter months, 
for several years. He was early accustomed to labor in the starch factory 
and chair factory operated by his relatives. With his natural mechanical 
lient he became familiar with the operation of machinery and the use of 
tools, and developed into one of the most successful millwrights and 
builders in the state. In early life he made clock cases, and built up a 
good business by securing clock works from Connecticut factories and 
setting them up in cases for the trade. For many years he lived at Nor- 
wood, New York, where he built more than ninety houses. He w as also 
engaged in Jefiferson, St. Lawrence and Franklin counties, and in Can- 
ada, in the construction of some of the largest mills of the section. His 
last eighteen years were passed at Gouverneiu'. He is described as a man 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 489 

of extraordinary industry, amijition and endurance. In the prosecution 
of his millwrighl work lie was often obhged to stand in cold water up 
to his waist, but by taking care of himself he avoided injurious results. 
It is related that on one occasion, having severely injured his hand on a 
circular saw, after lying by two days, he became impatient of delay in his 
work, and made a box to cover the injured member which fitted over 
the wrist, and continued his labors. His fatal illness extended over only 
ten days, and he reached the age of nearly sixty-nine years. With his 
wife, who survives him, he was affiliated with the Unitarian church, and 
was an independent Democrat in politics, having voted for Garfield. Har- 
rison and McKmley for president. He was freciuently a candidate on the 
labor ticket for local offices, but did not aspire to political honors. All 
his sons are staunch Republicans. 

Mr. Hall was married in 1856 to Miss Mary M. \\"est, a native of 
Malone, daughter of Robert M. and Agnes R. (Palmer) West, the last 
named a native of Bristol. Vermont. Robert M. West was a native of 
Delaware, and enlisted in the regular army, serving in the Seminole and 
Mexican wars. He was subsequently stationed at Fort Covington, New 
York, where he was discharged, and settled at Fort Jackson, St. Law- 
rence county, New York. He lived in Potsdam during the last twenty 
years of his Hfe. 

Frederick L. Hall grew up in Norwood, and attended the public 
schools of that village until he was seventeen years old. Having a taste 
for fine mechanical work, he entered a jewelry store there to learn the 
art of watch-making, and after a year at that place went to Potsdam, 
where he continued his studies with a jeweler, and was subsequently em- 
ployed in the same manner at Gouverneur. At the latter point he opened 
an establishment of his own in 18S3. In 1888 he located in Carthage, 
where he has since continued, and has built up a very satisfactory busi- 
ness and made himself popular with the public. He has been active in 
civil affairs and in church work, and soon earned recognition as a pro- 
gressive and useful citizen. His first store was on the south side of State 
street, and he subsequently bought a brick store on the north side, which 
he occupied for a time and sold. During the last eight years he has been 
located in the Strickland Block. He is the owner of three brick stores on 
State street, and in 1903 erected on Upper State street a handsome resi- 
dence, which is an ornament to the town. 

With a taste for music and much ability in its composition and ren- 
dition, it is natural that Mr. Hall should take a leading part -in musical 



490 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

circles. While in Guuverneur he was leader and director of the choir 
ii; the lia])list church, and took much interest in the choir of the Method- 
ist church soon after his arrivrd here. This he reorganized, and his f^ne 
tenor voice was of much assistance in rendering the part of that body in 
devotional exercises. This talent has been made useful on numerous 
public occasions, and is appreciated by the people of the town. Beside 
carrying a jewelry stock of about six thousand dollars, his store is head- 
quarters for musical instruments and merchandise. 

He is a member of the local Masonic lodge, and also of the lodge 
and encampment of the Odd Fellows, and has passed the chairs of the 
Odd Fellows' lodge. He was treasurer of the village one term, and for a 
period of five vears served as presitlent of the board of water commis- 
sioners. For four years he was a member of the Republican county com- 
mittee, and for a like period ^\■as chairman of the town committee. He 
is among the active members of the Methodist church. He was married 
in 1885, at Gouxerneur, to Miss Emma Kitts, who bore him a son, Stan- 
ley Dean, now thirteen years of age. 

Mr. Hall was married in October, 1902, to Miss Gertrude Horr, 
daughter of Charles A. and Jennry (Van Pelt) Horr, natives of Carthage. 
The Horr family is among the oldest of Massachusetts, and the Van 
Ptlt among the oldest Dutch families of New York. 

PATRICK R. WRAPE, a prominent citizen of Carthage, New 
York, is one of the self-made citizens of that place. He was born July 
2, 1845, i'l Toledo, Leeds county, Canada, and is a son of John and 
Bridget W'rape. 

John Wrape was born in October, 1806, in county Mayo, Ireland, 
where his father lived and died. When about twenty-five years old he 
crossed the .Atlantic and settled in Canada, where he met and married 
Bridget Wrape (no relative). Her parents, Michael and Catherine 
(Hart) Wrape, came Imm Ireland when she was three years old and 
settled in the wilderness, one and a half miles from the present village of 
Toledo, Leeds county, Ontario. Michael Wrape died there in 1867 at 
the age of eighty-four years, he still having a double set of sound teeth. 
His wife survived him two years and reached the age of eighty years. 
They had four sons and three daughters, all if whom settled in that neigh- 
borhood, and 01. e son, John, is now living in Toledo, Ontario, aged over 
seventy years. John Wrape had a sister Barbara, who came to America 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. ilH 

and became the wife of Thomas Wrape (no relative), whom she sur- 
vived, and died in the town of Wihia, this county, in 1900. 

John Wrape engaged in farming in Canada witli success, retired 
in 1865, and moved to this state, dying in December, 1885, at Port Ley- 
den, Lewis county, New York, aged seventy-nine years. His wife sur- 
vives him, and now resides with her daughter in Utica. He was a con- 
servative in Canadian pohtics, and a Democrat after becoming a citizen 
of the United States. Both he and his wife were communicants of the 
Roman CathoHc church. Nine of their ten children grew to maturity 
and are now living; one died in infancy. The names of the surviving 
members of the family are as follows : James, who resides in Canada ; 
Patrick R., the subject of this sketch, the second in the family, born in 
Canada ; Michael and John, the third and fourth, reside at Binghamton, 
New York ; Thomas is at Port Leyden ; Mary Ann is the wife of Timothy 
Dunn, residing in Utica; Katy is Mrs. Frederick Nebergall, of Lowville; 
Eliza married Dennis Monaghan, and resides at Boonville, and Bridget is 
the wife of Dennis Phelan, of Lowville. 

Patrick R. W'rape grew up on the Canadian farm of his father, and 
was early accustomed to industry in the performance of his home duties. 
He had the advantage of excellent common schools, and was so fortunate 
as to have among his teachers some who had formerly acted in that 
capacity at Edinburgh College. Near the close of his seventeenth year 
he set out to make his own way in the world, and arrived in Carthage on 
May 5, 1863, and has since continued to reside there. He soon found 
employment in a brick yard, and with the exception of one year from 
1865 to 1866 when he was a clerk in a general store, and a short time 
when he was engaged in farming, he has been continuously connected 
with the manufacture of brick. His industry and application soon made 
him warm friends, and he was advanced to responsible positions which 
he filled with credit to himself and satisfaction to his employers. For 
five years he was foreman of Charles Rugg's yard at Carthage, and was 
for two years superintendent of a brick business at Theresa. From 1885 
to 1890 he was superintendent of the Houghton yards at Carthage, and 
since the latter date has been proprietor of a yard here in partnership 
with Allen G. Peck. The firm of Wrape & Peck purchased fifteen acres 
of land in 1890 and immediately began the production of brick thereon. 
Since then they have constantly added to their holdings, and now (1904) 
own about one hundred and twenty acres, and in connection with their 
biick industry cultivate the land not required for brick making. The 



492 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

yard is locateil near West End a\enue. and adjacent to the tracks of the 
Carthage & Watertown Railroad. The product is always in demand, and 
tiie business has been continually prosperous. ]\Ir. Wrape has also been 
somewhat interested in lumber, but now gives his entire attention to the 
brick business, which he personally superintends, and its success is largely 
due to his practical knowledge gained through years of industrious atten- 
tion. 

Mr. Wrape is among those who supported the Disciples' church 
w liile it was in existence here, and he now attends the Baptist church, in 
which his wife has long been a most active member. She is now an in- 
valid, and has been obliged to give up her labors in that field. ]\Ir. 
Wrape is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men, the Royal Ar- 
canum, the Independent Order of Foresters, and the Tribe of Ben Hur, 
in all of which he has passed the principal chairs of the lodge, and has 
also been representative in various of their state bodies. He is an ardent 
Republican in political principle, and his ability and integrity have been 
recognized and utilized by his fellows. In 1899 and 1902 he was pres- 
ident of the village of Carthage, and is now (1903) serving his fourth 
term as supervisor of the town of Wilna. He is also president of the 
water board of the village of Carthage. 

He was married September 18, 1866, to Miss Angelia Matthews, a 
nati\e of Carthage, daughter of Pitt and Harriet Lucretia (Fowler) 
Matthews, of old American families. Five children complete the family 
of Mr. and Mrs. Wrape: i. \\'alter Norman, the eldest, superintendent 
of Bradstreet's ofifice in Bay City, Michigan ; he married Myra Cowan, 
daughter of Edward and Hannah Cowan. 2. Mary Angelia, married 
Robert Baxter, a prominent insurance man and justice of the peace of 
Mechanicsville, New York, and they are the parents of four children — 
Dorothy J., Jean A., Kenneth G. and Robert. 3. Harriet Lucretia. mar- 
ried Henry V. Gould, a printer, residing in Carthage, and they are the 
parents of two children — Walter F., and Marion. 4. Azelia Grace, mar- 
ried W. J. G. Potter, of Watertown, New York, who is engaged in the 
shoe business, and they are the parents of two children — Sterling W., 
and Hazel Flelen A. 5. K. Belle, who, April 27, 1904, was united in 
marriage with Mr. James L. Phillips, a civil engineer, formerly of 
W'atertown, New York. 

On December 25, Christmas day, 1903, eighteen persons, includ- 
ing children and grandchildren, sat down to the table with Mr. and Mrs. 
Patrick R. Wrape. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 493 

PATRICK H. FLYNN. Among the influential ruul puljlic- 
spirited citizens of Jefferson count}', New York, who were reared amid 
only ordmary surroundings an<l were without the advantages of for- 
tuitous circumstances, none have demonstrated the problem of life more 
successfully or acquired a more important and prominent place in the 
sphere of business than Patrick PI. Flynn, of Carthage, New York, 
familiarly known as H. P. Flynn. He was born in Middletown, Sus- 
quehanna county, Pennsylvania, April 14, 1839, the fourth in a family 
of ten children. His parents were descendants from the sturdy yeo- 
manry of Ireland, who upon arrival in this country devoted their ener- 
gies to the establishment of a home. This was eventually accomplished 
at the expense of infinite industry and economy, and their last years 
were passed in comparative ease and comfort. 

Patrick H. Flynn inherited the parental characteristics, and he early 
determined upon carving out for himself a successful career. At the age 
of twelve years he left home to make his own way in the world, and when 
sixteen he was an apprentice in a tannery. The occupation proved con- 
genial, and was the means of determining his future course of life. Be- 
ing active, willing and ambitious, he made himself profitable to his em- 
ployer, and his quick perception and close application soon enabled him 
to acquire a technical knowledge which increased his usefulness. Aside 
from this he improved every opportunity to add to his fund of informa- 
tion, and to this end attended night school after the labors of the day 
v.'ere ended. His employer, Mr. Clark, seeing that he was capable of 
larger tasks and greater responsibilities, gave him charge of the sta- 
tionary engine m the tannery in Maine, Broome county. New York, and, 
in- order to become more familiar with the duties committed to him, the 
young engineer purchased a number of books treating upon the care 
and management of engines, and gave his spare time to their study^ and 
these volumes he yet treasures as souvenirs of his earlv struggles. Mr. 
Flvnn, now just come of age, accompanied his employer to Callicoon, Sul- 
livan county, as chief engineer in the Monroeville tannery, and served in 
that capacity until 1863, when the plant was destroyed by fire. He was 
now sent by Mr. Clark, while the shops were being rebuilt, to Middle- 
town, New York, where he remained about a year, overseeino- the con- 
struction of the steam equipment — engine, boilers, etc. While thus en- 
gaged he made great advancement in his profession, having the advant- 
age of close association with Mr. John Mackey, an accomplished ma- 
chinist, who was in charge of the works, and who was so impressed with 



4!»4 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

his capability that he made him flattering ofifers to take him into his own 
services. These proffers were firmly but gratefully declined by Mr. 
Flynn, who was bound to Mr. Clark by ties of friendship as well as con- 
siderations of loyalty, and similar reasons moved him to also decline 
the offer of a position as third assistant engineer in the United States 
navy. Having seen the completion of the machinery, he returned to the 
tannery at Calhcoon, where he remained until 1865, when he entered a 
machine shop in Binghamton, New York, where he was employed set- 
ting up boilers, repairing engines, etc., in various parts of the state. 
In the fall of the same year he went to Red Rock, at Great Bend, Penn- 
sylvania, where he took a position as general manager of a tannery, in 
which he continued until 1873. 

Tn 1873 Mr. Clark located in Natural Bridge, Jefferson county. New 
York, to manage a tannery for Thomas E. Proctor, of Boston, Massa- 
chusetts, acting as his agent. Here Mr. Flynn served as superintendent 
until Mr. Clark resigned, whom he succeeded as agent, and he dis- 
charged the duties of this position with fidelity and ability until 1893,, 
when the tannery passed under the control of the United States Leather 
Company, a corporation which had been formed with Mr. Proctor as 
its president. During this time Mr. Flynn had increased the output of 
the tannery so that in the last twenty years it had risen from twenty- 
four thousand to one hundred thousand sides of sole leather per annum. 
After being strongly urged by the new company he was finally induced 
to continue in his position as agent, but the incorporating of the new 
company added greatly to the cares and responsibilities of the position. 
During the years of his connection with Mr. Proctor it had been a part 
of his business to purchase the different tracts of woodland, the trees 
of which furnished the bark for the several northern New York tan- 
neries which Mr. Proctor then operated, his business at that time being 
very extensive. When this property was transferred to the United 
States Leather Company, owing to Mr. Flynn's thorough knowledge 
he was called upon to estimate the value of the bark on the trees cover- 
ing about two hundred and fifty-thousand acres of land, and his figures 
were accepted without question and made the basis of the transaction. 
The constant strain and close attention to the details of this enormous 
business proved too great for his constitution, and September i, 1897, 
after two attacks of nervous prostration, he was finally induced loy his 
])hysician to resign. After traveling for a time and taking a much 
needed rest, Mr. Flynn moved in 1899 to Carthage. New ^'ork. where 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 495 

he has since maintained an office in the Strickland Block. Since the death 
of Mr. Proctor, in 1895, he has acted as agent for the estate, disposing 
of its lands to the extent of about fifty thousand acres, and transacting 
all other business in connection therewith. He has also dealt to some 
extent in real estate upon his own account, having bought and sold prop- 
erty in New York and Pennsyhania. His great ability as a man of 
affairs is further evidenced by the lact that he was chosen as one of the 
original directois of the Carthage National Bank, of the West End Pa- 
per Company, and of th,e Northwestern Telephone Company. For a 
time he served as water commissioner of the village of Carthage, but 
resigned on account of the demands of his personal affairs upon his time. 
He is a steadfast Republican in politics, and has exercised a potent in- 
fluence in the councils of his party. In his religious faith he is a Uni- 
versalist, and has always been an earnest and liberal supporter of the 
church of that sect at Natural Bridge, which his wife also attended. In 
all movements tending to the advancement of community interests and 
ti-.e uplifting of mankind, he takes a deep and abiding interest, and af- 
fords his earnest support to ail such purposes. In 1902 he purchased his 
beautiful home on State street, which he has made one of the principal 
ornaments ot the residential portion of Carthage. 

On September 24, 1868, Mr. Flynn celebrated the happiest event 
of his life in his marriage to Miss Hannah Squires, who was born in 
1845, in Connecticut, but for many years was a resident of Great Bend, 
Pennsylvania. On October 24, 1869, a daughter, Lena Belle, was sent 
to gladden the household, and happiness reigned supreme. This con- 
tinued until April 3, 1876, when the dark winged messenger of death 
entered the household and bore away the devoted wife and mother, at 
the early age of thirty-one years. She was sincerely mourned by a large 
circle of friends and acquaintances, and the loss to her husband and 
daughter was irreparable. On September 28, 1878, as a result of scar^ 
let fever, Lena Belle, the daughter, was called to join her mother in 
that brighter world, and both are interred at Great Bend, Pennsylvania. 
The sadness of the severe blow to Mr. Flynn in the loss of his wife and 
daughter has never been dissipated, and, although a young man at this 
time, he ne\'er again married, but has since devoted himself only to his 
business affairs, therein seeking after surcease from that bitter sorrow 
which has ft\tr cast its gloom upon him. 



496 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

HENRY EUGENE SIMMONS, one of the active business men of 
Carthage, whose father served under two flags, was born June 29, 1858, 
at Natural Bridge, in the town of Wilna. His great-grandfather, James 
Simmons, Hved at Milton, near London, England, and died there about 
1S33 at an advanced age. 

James, son of James Simmons, married Ann Collins, a native of 
the same locality, and lived and died at Dorkin, two miles from Milton, 
in Surrey, England. He owned twenty-five acres of land there and, be- 
side farming, dealt in horses. Four of his five children grew to maturity, 
and all save one remained in England. The first, a daughter, died in 
infancy. The others were: Martin William, Arthur J.. Henry, and 
Maria. The last was the wife of Benjamin Ball. 

Arthur John Simmons, born May 5, 1829, at Dorkin, remained 
there until he was in his sixteenth year. At that time he enlisted in the 
British army and was sent from the Isle of Wight on the man-of-war 
"Belle Isle" to Canada, where he served nearly five years. For three 
years he was stationed at Quebec, and the last three months of his serv- 
ice were passed at Kingston, where he was discharged. 

In 1849, as soon as he received his discharge from the army, he 
came to Watertown, in this county, and has been a citizen of the state 
ever since. He took employment, such as offered, chiefly on farms, 
spending nine months in Oswego county. In the spring of 185 1 he 
rented a farm in the town of LeRay on which he continued three years, 
engaged in dairying, and subsequently spent a year in the same way in 
Philadelphia. He next located on land at Natural Bridge, and continued 
farming there several years. 

In 1862 he enlisted as a soldier in defense of the Union in Company 
D, Tenth New York Heavy Artillery, and served three years. The regi- 
ment stayed about New York city for six months in preparing for active 
service, and was subsequently employed chiefly in the defenses about 
Washington, and through Maryland and Virginia. Mr. Simmons par- 
ticipated in the battles of Cold Harbor, Cedar Creek and the actions about 
Petersburg, the last being on April 2, 1865. In front of Petersburg he 
was stunned by a bullet which passed through his cap, grazing the head, 
though it drew no blood, and he was reported dead — causing much 
anxiety to his wife, who received the bad news before its contradiction 
could be forwarded. While he was absent in the army his wife was left 
with four small children to care for. Being proud, she was determined 
that she would receive no aid from the town, and went into the woods 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 497 

in the town of Cioghan, where she peeled bark for tanning, and chopped 
wood, being aided by her eldest son, then eleven years of age. The ab- 
sence of men in the army made wages high, and she was able to earn more 
than a livelihood for herself and children. With the aid of the wages 
which her husband sent home she purchased twenty-five acres of land, 
and when the soldier returned he found his family installed in a log house 
which she had built on the place. This was replaced in time by a frame 
house and the property was subsequently sold. After renting land for 
some time Mr. Simmons was compelled by ill health to abandon farming, 
and lived for some time in ^Vest Carthage. After recovering something of 
his former strength, in 1884 he settled on a small farm on South James 
street, near the limits of the village of Carthage, where he now resides. 
He ijelonged to the Disciples' church while it existed in Carthage, and 
now attends the Baptist church and is a firm and faithful adherent of 
Republican principles in politics. 

\\'hen he began farming in LeRay JNIr. Simmons took a helpmeet 
who has ever proved her worth as such. Their wedding occurred April 
30, 185 1, the bride being Miss Lydia A. Belcher, who was born in Fow- 
ler, St. Lawrence county, New York, a daughter of Elisha and Hannah 
Belcher. Three children of the five of Mr. and Mrs. Simmons are living. 
Edgar Adelbert, the eldest, is a builder residing in Carthage. Ellen 
Maria married William Roderick, and died March 14, 1903, in Carthage. 
Lavine Adel married Jarvis Simmons (no relative), of Carthage. Henry 
E. is the fourth. Enmia Amelia married Charles IMatthews, of Black 
River. 

H. Eugene Simmons passed his youthful days on farms and attended 
the district schools until lie was ten years old. For the next ten or twelve 
years most of his time was spent in the lumber woods, where he aided in 
getting out timber and in sawing it into lum.ber. During six years he 
was a farm laborer, and then he decided to acquire a trade. Coming to 
Carthage, worked with Peter W. Weichard and became master of the 
mason builder's art. For some time he worked independently at such 
jobs of mason work as came in iiis way, and in 1891 he formed a partner- 
ship with James E. Jones (see Jones). This association has proved ad- 
vantageous to both, and the firm of Jones & Simmons is now doing a 
very prosperous business in building and the retailing of builders' sup- 
plies and coal. Some wholesale trade is also carried on, and to this was 
added in 1903 a flour store, which was purchased advantageously and is 
supplying a large trade. This last feature is under the personal charge 



4i)8 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

of Mr. Simmons, and to his industry and popularity is due much of the 
success of the firm. In one year they laid more than a million and 
a half of brick, and their operations have been on a large scale for sev- 
eral years. In 1897 Mr. Simmons was the first to introduce cement 
walks into Carthage, and the firm has continued to buikl them since, and 
in 1903 laid more than half a mile. 

Mr. Simmons is a member of the Methodist church, of the Royal 
Arcanum, of Carthage Lodge No. 365, Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows, and Oriental Encampment. No. 135, of the same order. He is a 
member of the \olunteer fire department, of which he was treasurer four 
vears, aiui is now in his second year as first assistant chief engineer, and 
in his third term as trustee of the village. In politics he is an ardent 
Republican. 

He was married, December 25, 1882, to Miss Carrie M. Forbes, who 
was born in the town (>f W'ilna, a daughter of Ephraim and Malvina 
(Waite) Forbes, now a resident of Gouverneur, New York. Her 
mother died November 26, 1903, aged sixty-three years. A son and 
daughter have been given to Mr. Simmons and wife, aged respectively 
nineteen and seventeen years, and named Ernest E., and Edith M. Sim- 
mons. 

JOHN LANSING BARBER, a retired farmer, residing in Carth- 
age, is descended from an old Massachusetts family. His grandfather, 
Samuel Barber, came from Massach.usetts to New York in an early day, 
and died while still a young man. Chauncey, son of Samuel Barber, was 
born in. Herkimer county, and never knew his mother. By the early 
death of his father he was left to the care of a stepmother, who reared 
him kindly. When a young man he came to Carthage, and here married 
Melinda, daughter of Colonel Samuel Mack, who built the first dam in 
Black ri\er. Colonel Mack died here more than sixty years ago. 

Soon atter his marriage Chauncey Barber went to Boonville, where 
he was employed as a carpenter and builder. He also acquired the trade 
of mason, and was enabled to do most of the work of building houses. 
For a time he was engaged in lumbering at Caulkinsville, and also did 
some farming. Like most Yankees he could take hold of many kinds 
of work successful!}-, and he was always industrious in whatever he 
undertook. 

In the spring of 1856 he came to Carthage, and was engaged 
several years in building houses here. On account of an injury he was 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. i'.)'.) 

compelled to ahaiulou the use of tools, and spent two or three years in 
a vinevard in New Jersew whence he returned to Carthage, locating on 
the west side of the river, where he was engaged for a time in gardening. 
Subsequentl)' l.e purchased a farm on Pleasant street, in the town of 
LeRay, and continued to till it until his death, in the fall of 1895. at the 
age of eighty-three years. He was a Spiritualist, and always adhered 
to the Democratic party in politics. Three of his four sons are now 
living. Edwin, the first, died at the age of twenty-four years. Henry 
H. is a resident of West Carthage. John L. is the third. June resides 
on the paternal farm in LeRay. The mother died on Pleasant street a 
numlier of years before her husband. 

John L. Barber was born December i, 1840. in Brownville. He 
was fifteen years of age when his parents came to live in Carthage, and 
he received his education in the district schools at Boonville and here. 
He was early accustomed to aid his father in building operations, and 
became familiar with the use of carpenter's tools. He began to learn 
the trade of blacksmith, but his preceptor enlisted and went to^ the war, 
and he then turned his attention to farming. He purchased a farm in 
the town of Champion, which he operated with such industry and suc- 
cess that he was enabled to buy another in the same town. After a 
time he sold one of these and bought a farm in Denmark, Lewis county, 
which he tilled ten years. After a life of severe toil, in which his health 
became somewhat broken, he finally disposed of his rural property and 
moved to the village of Carthage in i88g. Here he built several tenant 
houses, and gives his time tO' the care of his property, which is located in 
the vicinity of James and West streets, his own residence being on the 
latter, near ]\Iechanic street. JSlr. Barber is a stockholder in the Carth- 
age National Bank and the local Building and Loan Association. His 
mother was reared a ]\Iethodist in religious faith, and he adheres to her 
teachings. Always a Democrat in politics, he has been nominated fre- 
quently for official position, but has uniformly declined to be a candi- 
date. 

Mr. Barber was married July 4, 1865. to Miss Lucy Ann Phillips, 
a native of Champion, born September 7, 1843, ^ daughter of Josiah and 
Lorean (Crook) Phillips. Her brother Orrin, who resides in Champion, 
was born May 29, 1842. Her parents were of early families in that town. 
Mrs. Barber's first known ancestor was Ebenezer Phillips, whose will, 
dated November 20, 1745. and proved August 21, 1746, mentions his 



500 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

wife Alary. By this it is known that his death occurred at Southboro, 
Worcester county, Massachusetts, between those dates. 

2. His son, Ebenezer, resided in Southboro. He married Hannah 
Lvscom, born April 29, 1722, being the second child of Israel Lyscom 
(or Liscomb). 

3. Ebenezer, son of Ebenezer Phillips (2), was born February 23, 
1752, in Southboro, and was a very powerful man, being six feet and 
two inches in height and well proportioned. He served in the Revolu- 
tionary army and participated in the battle of Bunker Hill. He mar- 
ried Rachel Gale, and they had twelve children. 

4. Silas, son of Ebenezer (3), was born October 27, 1775, in 
Grafton, Massachusetts, and settled in Rutland, Jefferson county. New 
York, in the spring of 1805. He was an influential citizen of the town, 
in wiiose reclamation from the wilderness and organization he bore an 
active part, served eighteen years as collector, and was a leading member 
of the Methodist church. He died August 29, 1850. His wife, Lucretia 
Scott, of Ward, Massachusetts, died May i, 1852, aged seventy-six years. 
Thev had eleven children, of whom Josiah was the seventh. 

5. Josiah Phillips was born September 11, 1810, in Rutland, and 
lived most of his life in Champion, dying in Denmark in 1885. He was 
married February 20, 1839, to Lorean Crook, w^ho was born January 
II. 1821, and died November 6, 1898, at the home of her daughter, 
Mrs. Barber, in Carthage. Air. and Mrs. Phillips were members of the 
Methodist church, in which he was trustee, class leader and steward. 
In early life he was a Democrat, but became a Republican before the 
civil war. 

JAAIES EMERSON JONES, a leading business man of Carthage, 
whose industry, energy and sound business probity are doing much to 
build up the material interests and good name of the town, is a native 
of Lewis county, this state, born October 29, 1853, in the town of 
Turin, where his father, W'arren R. Jones, is a lifelong resident. 

His paternal grandfather, Stephen Evan Jones, son of Roland and 
Elizabeth (Roberts) Jones, was born May 8, 1805, in Wales, and came 
to this country at the age of fifteen years, in 1818. His parents w^ere 
born respectively in 1776 and 1775. He sailed from the port of Liver- 
pool and landed in New York, and after spending two years in the 
vicinity of New York city settled at Turin in 1820. He learned the 
trade of mason, and lived over sixty-five years at Turin, where he died 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 501 

January 3, 1896, near the close of his ninety-first year. He married at 
Turin, in 1832, Maria Deitz, who was born in 1806. in Berne. Albany 
county, this state, daughter of Henry and Catherine (Dupont) Deitz, 
of Dutch and French extraction. Colonel St. Pierre Dupont, father of 
Catherine Deitz, was one of the French soldiers who came over with 
Lafayette, to aid in securing the independence of this country in the 
Revolution. After that struggle he settled in Berne. Maria (Dftitz) 
Jones died February 2, 1896, in her ninetieth year. She was reared in 
the town of Greig, adjoining Turin, where her father was a farmer. Of 
her eight children all are now living, \\^arren R. being the eldest. 
Elizabeth, wife of Henry Hopkins, resides in Glenfield. Anna, the 
third, is the widow of James Crofut (who died in 1901 j, and resides in 
St. Paul, Minnesota. John is a resident of Constableville, New York. 
Olive is the widow of John Jones, junior, residing on a farm near the 
village of Turin. Samuel, a mason, is a citizen of Lowville. Maria is 
unmarried, living at Turin, as is also Alson T. S. Evan Jones was a 
leading member of the Methodist church at Turin, which he was in- 
strumental in organizing, helped build the house of worship there, and 
was always an oi^cer of the society, s.erving as choir master, and at 
times the choir was composed wholly of members of his family. Beside 
working at his trade he taught music, and was a most useful member of 
society. He always supported the political principles enunciated and 
typified by the Republican party, in whose organization he bore a part. 

Warren R. Jones was born in 1833, and has passed his entire life 
at Turin. For fifty years he was a mason builder in that vicinity, and 
, has spent the last twelve years in ofificial duties, being constable of the 
town and village. Like his father he is an ardent Republican, and is a 
progressive citizen. He was married to Almira, daughter of Rich- 
ard and Betsey (Rea) Dickinson, of old Turin families. She was 
a daughter of Philip Rea, for many years a teacher, and recently de- 
ceased. Charles, the eldest son of Richard Dickinson, has served some 
years as consul to Constantinople, having been appointed b\- President 
McKinley, and reappointed by Roosevelt, still serving. He was active 
in securing the release of Miss Ellen Stone, who was held for ransom 
by brigands in the realm of the Turkish Porte. He also is proprietor 
of the "Broome County Republican," of Binghamton, New York. Mrs. 
Almira Jones died at the age of twenty-seven years, leaving three 
children. The name of the eldest is at the head of this article. The 
others are Stephen R. and Gary, the former a resident of Herkimer, 



502 GENEALOGICAL AXD FAMILY HISTORY. 

Xew York, and tlie latter of Xew Haven, Connecticut. For liis second 
wife Mr. Jones married Estlier Ryel, wlio liore him four children — 
Roscoe. Merrill Frederick, Henry Deitz and Lulu. 

James E. Jones grew up in his native town, and attended the dis- 
trict school of the neighborhood. At the age of fifteen years he began 
to learn the mason's trade, working with his father and grandfather, 
and continued thus until 1885, when he became a resident of Carthage. 
Here he began taking building contracts, and has since borne a large 
share in building operations here. Among his creations are the Atwood 
residence and the Miller Block. On the first of April. 1891, he formed 
a partnership with H. Eugene Simmons, and since that time Jones & 
Simmons have been the leading mason builders of the place. Their 
most pretentious work is the Strickland Block, and during the season 
of its construction they built thirteen stores and the village pumping 
station. They have recently given much attention to building cement 
walks, and during the season of 1903 made considerably more than half 
a mile of tliese, beside other concrete work. They do a large business 
in the sale of builders" supplies and coal, and in 1903 purchased a flour 
and feed store and also a mill for custom grinding, and carry on a profit- 
able trade. 

For a period of five years ^Mr. Jones was a member of the volunteer 
fire department, of which he was treasurer, and has served as trustee and 
as collector of the village of West Carthage. He accepts the faith of 
the Methodist church, and is a straightforward Republican in political 
principle. He is a member of the Royal .Arcanum, of Carthage Lodge, 
No. 365 ; Lidependent Order of Odd Fellows, of the Lincoln League of 
Watertown, and the Carthage Social Club. 

Ivlr. Jones was married October 29. 1879, to Miss Stella Allen, a 
native of Turin, whose father was a soldier of the civil war, in which 
he lost his life. Two children complete the family of Mr. Jones — 
Bertram and Vera. b<ith at home, the former being bookkeeper in the 
office of Jones & Simmons. 

EDWARD VILLARS, of Edward Villars & Company, druggists, 
of Carthage, is one of the progressive ami enterprising business men 
of the town. He is a native of Jefiferson county, born March 23, 1861, 
in the town of .Antwerp. His grandparents, Edward and Mary (Brown) 
\"illars. li\ed and died in county Limerick. Lxland, where Mr. Villars 
was a farmer. His .mcestcir.^ were French refugees who settled in Ire- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 503 

land. His wife was a daughter of Patrick Brown, a farmer of the same 
locaHty. 

Patrick, son of Edward and Mary Villars, was born August 12, 
1827, at Castletown Conyers, county Limerick, Ireland, where he re- 
mained until he was twenty years of age. ■ Having determined to seek 
his fortune in the new world, he sailed from Liverpool upon a sailing 
vessel in Alay, 1S47, and after a voyage of four weeks landed in Boston 
on June 3d. Proceeding at once to the town of Antwerp in this county, 
he was employed for some time in the blast furnaces there. He bought 
and sold farming land and passed the best years of his life on a farm 
midway between the villages of Antwerp and Philadelphia. In 1873 he 
left the farm, and spent three years in weighing coal at the Sterlingville 
furnace. Since 1876, Mr. Villars has been a resident of Carthage, and 
for se\'eral years he was in charge of Nunn's pump factory in this place. 
In 1887 he joined his son m establishing a drug store, which has ever 
since been conducted under the style of Edward Villars & Company. 
Since 1894 it has been located in a block which they built for the pur- 
pose, on State street, above Mechanic, and which is one of the most 
substantial and handsome business blocks of the town. The business is 
conducted chiefly by the son, who is a graduated pharmacist. Mr. Villars 
has always taken an intelligent interest in the progress of his adopted 
country, and is one of her substantial and patriotic citizens. He is inde- 
pendent in politics, with a leaning tow'ard the Democratic party, and 
is a faithful member of St. James' Roman Catholic church. While a 
resident of Antwerp he served as school collector, but has usually avoided 
any proffers of oflicial position. He was married, April 8, 1855, in 
Carthage, to Miss Ann McNulty, who was born in 1835, in Ballynagh, 
county Sligo, Ireland, and came to this country with her w'idowed 
mother. Ellen (Clark) McNulty, and sisters in 1849. Her father, James 
McNulty, was a farmer, and had been some years deceased when his 
family left their native land. Mrs. Villars passed away in Carthage, 
October 11, 1902, aged sixty-seven years. Three of her six children 
survive. Maria, the first, died at the age of seven years. James, the 
second, died at the age of forty-two years, in Menominee, Michigan. 
Edward is the third. Ella is the wife of Edward Burns, and they have 
two children, Loretta and Catherine, residing in Carthage. Carrie A. 
is Mrs. George Haberer, (jf Low\-ille. and has one son, William B. John 
Thomas died when ten years old. 

Edward Villars attended tlie public schools of Antwerp, Sterling- 



504 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

ville and West Carthage, and spent two years at Villanova College. 
Villanova, Pennsylvania. After spending iom years in the drug store 
of C. L. Fredericks, in Carthage, he pursued the course of the Albany 
School of Pharmacy, a branch of Union College, and graduated in the 
spring of 1887. He at once entered business, in association with his 
father, and has since so continued. He is genial, industrious and com- 
petent, and has established a desirable business, second to none of its 
kind in the vicinity. He is a director of the National Exchange Bank, 
and a trustee of St. James' Church parish, which controls a very fine 
property on ground presented by LeRay de Chaumont in 1818. With 
a hearty interest in all that makes for the best interests of his home town, 
he is a member of the Carthage Club, of the local lodges of Knights of 
Columbus, and Royal Arcanum, in the latter of which he has served 
two terms as regent. He is also a member of the village school board. 
Of independent ideas in politics, he is usually a Democrat, and it has 
sometimes happened that he found himself on the opposite side from his 
father, though both are Democrats. 

Mr. Villars was married, June 13, 1900, to Miss Carrie A. Carroll, 
of an old Pinckney family, whose history will be found in connection 
with mention of her sister, Mrs. James Galvin. of Carthage. 

PETER McQuillan, who was an mdustrious and successful 
farmer of Wilna, New York, and a soldier of the Union army, passed 
away at his home in Carthage, New York, July 6, 1898, at the age of 
fifty-six years. He was born June 29, 1842, in the town of Wilna, a 
son of James and Mary (McManus) McQuillan, of County Meath, Ire- 
land. When a young man, James McQuillan (father) came to America 
and settled in the town of Wilna on a farm, where he was killed by a 
falling branch when but thirty-five years old. His widow survived him 
many years, reaching the age of eighty-three. Both were faithful meni' 
bers of St. James's Roman Catholic church, in whpse yard Mr. Mc- 
Quillan's body was interred. Mrs. McQuillan's remains were deposited 
in the new cemetery at Carthage. They were the parents of four sons, 
namely : Paul, who died in Wilna, where he was a farmer ; Dennis, who 
died in the oil regions of Pennsylvania ; Peter, mentioned hereinafter : 
and James, who died in Wilna. 

Peter McQuillan was reared on the parental farm, and received a 
limited education in the district school of the neighborhood. At the 
age of fourteen \ears he set nut ti> maintain himself, his school davs be- 



GENEALOGICAL AND EAMILY HISTORY. 505 

ing over, but as he was ambitious to be well informed he studied dur- 
ing the evenings, even after he was the head of a family, and became a 
learned and intelligent citizen. He served as a farm hand until xA.ugust 
22, 1864, when he enlisted in Company A, One Hundred and Eighty- 
sixth Regiment New York Volunteers, which was commanded by Cap- 
tain H. J. Welch, of Carthage. This regiment was used chiefly for 
guard duty, and participated in one battle of note, that of the fall of 
Petersburg, shortly after which it was mustered out of service. While 
on a march Mr. McQuillan had the misfortune to step in a hole, and 
the result was that he sustained a rupture which incapacitated him foi 
further duty, and from the effects of which he never fully recovered. 
He was discharged from service with his regiment on June 2, 1865. 

Returning to Carthage after the war, Mr. McQuillan took up team- 
ing and became a contractor in that line, following it for several years, 
About 1875 he bought a tract of land in the town of Wilna, near Car- 
thage wliich he proceeded to drain, clear and improve, and developed 
a fine farm where some of his acquaintances predicted failure. This he 
tilled about twenty years, until failing health compelled its sale and a 
return to village life. Previous to his purchasing tlie land an experi- 
ment had been made to manufacture peat. Along in the early seventies 
the Carthage blast furnace tried peat instead of coal for iron manufac- 
ture. A peat bed was opened at this point, but the experiment was a 
failure. The few acres of tillable land were sold cheap to Mr. McQuillan, 
who was a practical farmer, some of it at one dollar and twenty-five cents 
an acre, and che wood on it paid for the land. Several hundred acres 
adjoining were given up to huckleberries and second growth ash. The 
soil v/as a black muck, rather swampy, although close to Black river, 
just a ridge of land separating the two, over which the road runs. The 
farm netted Mr. McQuillan thousands of dollars, and he sold it at a 
figure that prevailed only in war times. It was purchased by John E. 
Strickland, the wealthy hardware dealer of Carthage. The elegant farm 
house overlooks Black river, and there is a picturesque view of the river 
flats and the rising Denmark hills across, presenting a bit of New Eng- 
land scenery seldom met with outside of the down-east states. Besides 
being industrious, Mr. McQuillan was a shrewd calculator, and he became 
one of the well-to-do citizens of the town of Carthage, having been asso- 
ciated with others- in developing new industries there. In connection 
with A. E. Maxwell and Peter Yousey he developed a water power in 
the Black river and built a pulp mill. This was succeeded by the Island 



506 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. _ 

Ti\\)tr ^V\\\. after which Mr. :\k-Oui!lan sold out his interest. On retir^ 
ing from llie farm lie hiiilt liie home which is still occupied by his fam- 
ily, on Soutii James street, and where he died. While living- on the 
farm and previous to that time he spent several winters in lumbering in 
the forests of this section. He was a leading member of St. James's 
church, in which he seived at one time as trustee, and of the Grand 
Army of the Republic. In politics he was a Republican, but never de- 
sired oiTfice. 

Mr. McQuillan w-as married, at Carthage, New York, Septembei 
21, 1869, to Miss Catherine Riley, w-ho was born three miles from Car- 
thage, in the tow-n of Wilna, daughter of William and Bridget (Mc- 
Gowan) Riley. William Riley was a native of county Meath, Ireland, 
and came to tliis country when a young man, being among the early 
settlers of Wilna. Here he met Miss McGowan, who was born in 
County Sligo, Ireland, and they were married at Carthage. He died July 
23, 1879, at the age of seventy-three years, and she passed away Janu- 
ary 13, 18S7, aged seventy years. All except one of their four children 
are living : Matthew, the eldest, died March 28, 1889, in Wilna. IMrs. 
McQuillan is che second child. Emma, the third, is the wife of Joseph 
McGraw, residmg in Aimapolis, Maryland. Andrew-, the fourth, resides 
in Watertown, New York. Mr. and Mrs. McQuillan were the parents 
oi seven children, two of whom — Peter and Lillian — died in infancy. 
The surviving members of the family are : Alice, wife of Frederick 
Macomber, station agent at Harrisville, New York, and they are the 
parents of two children — Edna and Irving Macomber. Jennie, wife of 
Everett Davis, and mother of three childrai — Leon, Irene and Paul Da- 
vis; they reside at Oswegatchie, New York. Margaret, wife of William 
Largett, of Carthage, New York. Susan, who resides with her mother. 
William, who also resides with his mother. Mr. and Mrs. McQuillan 
sought to provide educational advantages for their children, and they 
have lived li\es of usefulness and integrity. 

JAMES GALVIN, one of the most substantial citizens of Carthage, 
is the son of a Jefiferson county pioneer, and sustains the sturdy and in- 
dustrious character of his ancestors. He was born ]\Iarch 6, 1835, ^" 
the town of Wilna, and most of his life has been passed, as his home has 
ahvays been, within its borders. 

His father, Edward Galvin, w-as a native of county Wexford, Ire- 
laml, born in 1791, and came to this country whei-| a yciung man. He was 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 5u7 

man-ied, at Carthage, in 1820, to Mary Walsh, who was born in 1792 in 
county Monaghan, Ireland. Edward Galvin was early left fatherless, 
and cared for himself from early youth. He left his native land May 22, 
181 5, and crossed to Canada, and took up land in the vicinity of Perth. 
This location did not satisfy him, and he crossed to New York in 18 16. 
His first year in this state was passed in the town of Rutland, Jefferson 
county, where he was employed on a farm. 

In 1817 he came to Wilna (then called Long Falls) and took a con- 
tract in company with another man to chop some thousands of cords of 
wood for charcoal, then in great demand by the furnaces just built in 
the vicinity. In 181 8 he bought a piece of land on the present Alexandria 
road, which he proceeded to clear, producing much charcoal in the 
process. After living in this place twelve years he sold it and bought an- 
other tract nearer to Carthage, which is now in possession of his son. 
There he lived until 1861, and then rented his farm and moved into the 
village of Carthage. He was a shrewd and successful farmer, and was 
able to retire before entirely worn out by the labors of the farm. He 
died August 18, 1872, and his wife passed away just seven days later. 
Both were faithful members of St. James's Roman Catholic church, of 
which Mr. Galvin was one of the first trustees. He aided in building 
the first church edifice in 1818, when the clearing of the site furnished the 
timbers used in the construction. It stood on the ground now occupied 
by the handsome and substantial church of that society, the ground hav- 
ing been donated by James LeRay de Chaumont. Mr. Galvin took a keen 
interest in the politics of the country, being a Democrat, but would never 
accept ofiice. Six of his nine children grew to maturity, and have proven 
useful and successful citizens. Morgan, the eldest, died in Watertown, 
May 8, 1903. John, the second, started for California in 1852, died at 
sea, and w-as buried at Acapulco, Mexico. Judith was the wife of 
Michael Gallagher, and died in May, 1903, at her home in Newport, 
Herkimer county, this state. Eliza died in 1892 at the parental home- 
stead in Carthage. Edward made the journey to California in 1852, and 
died in Columbia, that state, in 1880. 

James, youngest child of Edward Galvin, grew up on the home 
farm in Wilna, and in the intervals of farm labors attended the local 
district school and Carthage Academy. From the age of fifteen years 
he began to deal in horses and cattle, and became an extensive buyer of 
stock through this state and Canada. He was well known in the Domin- 
ion, and commanded large credit at the banks in Perth, Montreal and 



608 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

other points. In thirty years of this traffic he was extraordinarily succes- 
cessful, never losing an animal by death, and never selling one at less 
than first cost. In 1874 Mr. Galvin wras elected supervisor of the town 
of Wilna, and continued to fill this position six years. During a part of 
that period he was assistant superintendent of the Black River Canal, 
under S. F. Carman, whom he succeeded as superintendent, being con- 
nected with the canal management from 1883 to 1890. During this time 
he purchased a tract of six thousand five hundred acres of land in the 
Adirondacks, later took a partner, and has acted since as trustee, and has 
since been selling it in building sites for summer cottages. The land 
borders en lakes number four, five, six and seven, and Limekiln lake, and 
afifords a great number of desirable places for summer homes. The 
tract now contains five large hotels and numerous summer boarding 
houses, and the speculation has been exceedingly profitable. Mr. Cal- 
vin's good fortune is not undeserved, for he has always been industrious 
and has exercised prudent foresight and shrewdness. He is the owner of 
five houses in the village of Carthage, and in 1903 moved from the old 
home on Alexandria road to a handsome home on State street, owned by 
his wife. 

He was married, January 2, 1890, to Miss Jennie Carroll, a native 
of Pinckney, Lewis county. New York, where her father, Thomas Car- 
roll, was an early settler. He lived fifty years on the same farm and was 
very successful, and there died in 1897, aged eighty-three years. His 
wife, Mary Murphy, came with her parents — John and Julia Murph)- — 
when four years old, to Denmark, Lewis county, from county Meath, 
Ireland. Mrs. Carroll died in 1891 at the age of sixty-five years. Two 
of her five children died of scarlet fever in childhood. The others were: 
Charles, who died in 1901, in the house where he was born; Carrie, wife 
of Edward Villars, of Carthage, and Jennie, Mrs. Galvin. Mr. and Mrs. 
Galvin are among the prominent members of St. James's church, and he 
has always been one of the steadfast supporters of the Democratic party, 
exercising considerable influence in its councils. 

CHARLES WTLMER SHAFFER, secretary of the Carthage 
Lumber Compan}-, is one of the progressive young business men of whom 
Carthage has many. He was born December 27, 1868, in ^^'atson, Lewis 
county, this state, where his parents dwelt for a short time. 

His grandfather, Jacob Shaffer, was a nati\e of Strasburg, France, 
where he was born January 14, 1818. In 1840 he came to the LInited 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 509 

Stales to settle liis family where land was more easy of acquirement. 
After living a short time at Beaver Falls, New York, he went to Adams 
Basin, Monroe county, this state, and purchased a township of land on 
which he settled his children, and all save one are now living there. His 
wife, Eve Michel, born October ii, 1810, died there January 23. 1879, 
aged sixty-nine years, and he passed away December 7, 1880. They 
were faithful members of the Lutheran church, and were respected 
for uprightness and peaceable and industrious character. Their fam- 
ily included three sons and two daughters. The eldest of these is 
Jacob, of whom further mention is made in this article. Margaret, the 
second, is the wife of Jacob Zimmerman, a farmer of Adams Basin, 
where John, the thud, also resides. Catherine married Welton Smith, 
and is now living at Lowville. George is a railroad employee at Roches- 
ter. 

Jacob Shaiifer was born July 27, 1842, in Strasburg, and was two 
years of age when he came, with his parents, to this country. He re- 
ceived his education in the district schools of this state, and has ahvays 
engaged in farming. W'ith the exception of three years when he lived 
en a farm in Watson, he was associated with his father for several years, 
but is now located at Adams Basin, being practically retired from active 
labor. He is a patriotic American citizen, and a staunch supporter of the 
principles of the Republican party, but has always refused to accept any 
official station, though frequently urged to do so. An earnest member 
of the Methodist church, he has served more than twenty years as a 
deacon in that organization, an important position in its administration 
bestowed upon few of the laity. 

He was married in 1862, to Catherine Lytle, who was born October 
3, 1S42, in Amhest Island, in the St. Lawrence river, in Canadian waters, 
where her father, Michael Lytle, died. He was of Scotch ancestry. His 
widow, Mary Fario, was of French extraction. She n<jw resides at Al- 
pena, Michigan, being one hundred and three years old. Mr. and Mrs. 
Shaffer are the parents of a son, Charles W., and a daughter, Mary J. 
The last named is the wife of Guy Stone, residing on a farm at Adams 
Basin. 

Charles W. Shaffer, only son of Jacob and Catherine, grew' up on 
the farm at Adams Basin, participating in the duties incident to agricult- 
ural life and receiving his primary education in the local district school. 
He subsequently attended the Rochester graded schools and Lowville 
Academy, completing the course at the latter institution in 1886. For 



510 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

two years he was employed In Bateman, ]\lills & Company, dry goods 
dealers of Lowville. and was later engaged in the same capacity at 
Rochester and Antwerp, this county. He spent some years at the latter 
]Hiint. where bis energy and business capacity were noted by leading busi- 
ness men, and he was thereby enabled to form a valuable business con- 
nection and reap the benefit of his own industry and executive capacity. 

Mr. Shaffer became a resident of Carthage in 1897, when in asso- 
ciation with the late John D. Ellis and Albert Hoyt, of Antwerp, and 
S. T- Gifford, of Smilhport, New York, he became interested in the man- 
facture of lumber. They built tlie present sawmill of the Carthage Lum- 
lier Coiiipan\-, and immediately began the production of building lumber. 
On i\Ia)- 1, 1903, the present corporation, Carthage Lumber Company, 
was established, with 'Wx. Shaffer as secretary. Its logs are brought 
fifty miles by ri\-er, and it produces four and one-half million feet of 
lumber annually, beside a large amount of pulp wood, giving employment 
to eighty-five men in the woods and about the mills in West Carthage. 

Mr. Shaffer is also secretary of the Security and Real Estate Com- 
pany. He is the present master of Carthage Lodge, of the Masonic fra- 
ternity, and patron of the local chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, affil- 
iated with the same order. He is also a member of Carthage Chapter, 
No. 259, Royal Arch Masons, Watertown Commandery No. 11, Knights 
Templar, and I\iedia Temple, Mystic Shrine. He attends the Presby- 
terian churcli. and is a steadfast Republican in political principle. He 
was married January 7, 1891. to Miss Deborah Ivinsman, who was born 
in Sterlingville, this county, a daughter of Alamanzo and Mary 
(Downey) I\iii.sman, natives of Jefferson county. Mrs. Shaffer is an 
active member of the order of the Eastern Star, being associate matron 
and participating in the work of Carthage Chapter. 

GEORGE WILLIAM HATCH, proprietor of the Levis House, 
Carthage, has been long identified with the hotel business, and is well 
known to the traveling public, with whom he is justly popular owing to 
his genial manner and upright business methods. He is a native of the 
town of Wilna, Jefferson county, born INlarch 15. 18O0, son of Walker 
Hatch, a farmer of that town. His grandfather, Willard Hatch, son of 
Isaac and Anna (Hubbell) Hatch, was a native of Kent. Litchfield 
county, Connecticut, and came t(_i the town of Wilna in or about 1830. 

Isaac Hatch died in middle life, and his widow li\-ed to be o\'er 
ninetv vears old. She was a \'erv strict Presbvterian. .She reared three 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 511 

sons and fonr claugliters. Henry, the eldest son, settled on a farm in 
the town of Watertown in i8ti, and died there July 13, 1856. He was 
born October 2, 1783, in New Milford. Connecticut, and bis wife, Lo- 
raina Everett, was lx)rn September 19, 1787, in Ellsworth, Connecticut. 
Erastus Hatcln, second son of Isaac, lived and died in Kent. All the 
daughters — Sarah, Anna, Mahala and Laura — married, and lived in Kent 
and Ellsworth, Connecticut. 

Willard Hatch was a native of the town of New Milford, Connecti- 
cut. He bought land in the town of Wilna, near the present village of 
Sterling\-ille, and continued to till it about twelve years, after which be 
returned to Kent, where he died. His wife, Abigail Skiff, continued to 
live with her sons in Wilna until her death, previous to 1850, and her 
body was placed in Wilna cemetery. The children were Erastus, Walker, 
Jane and Harriet. Both the daughters lived and died in Connecticut, the 
former being the wife of a Mr. Crane. Erastus Hatch was born in Kent. 
in August, 18 18. He came to Wilna before 1840, and operated a black- 
smith shop near the Wilna postoffice. For many years he kept the Hatch 
House in Carthage (now known as the Irvington). where be died in 
August, 1875, aged exactly sixty years. 

Walker Hatch was born in 18 14, in Ivent, Connecticut, and came to 
W'ilna with bis father. He remained in that town, engaged in farming, 
until 1866, when be moved to the town of Constantia, Oswego county. 
where be died in 1876, aged sixty-two years. He was a Universalist in 
religious belief, and a Republican in political principle. He married 
Eliza, daughter of William and Susan (Montgomery) Davis, and widow 
of John Cooney. William Davis and wife lived all their lives in Hast- 
ings, Oswego county. Mrs. Hatch died in 1885, aged fifty-six years. By 
her first marriage she iiad a daughter, Matilda, who is now the widow of 
Thomas Kenyon (died September 21. 1903), .superintendent of the Keep 
Home at Watertown, of which his wife was matron until his death. 

George W. Hatch is the only child of his parents. His early edu- 
cation \\as supplied by the district schools of Constantia, in which be 
continued until fifteen years old. He subsequently attended Hungerford 
(now .Vdams) Collegiate Institute, at Adams, this county, some six or 
seven terms, and taught school two terms in Oswego county. In 1883 
be went to Watertown, and became a clerk in the confectionery store 
of T. T. Ross, and from 1886 to 1891 was with A. Bushnell & Com- 
pany as salesman and floorwalker. In May, 1891, be went to Fine, St. 
Lawrence county. New York, where he kejit a hotel imtil 1897, when he 



612 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

came to Carthage and kepi the Elmhirst Hotel two years. Returning to 
Fine, he continued in a hotel there until his purchase of the Levis House 
in April, 1901, and since that time has conducted this establishment. 
Under his management it is popular, and is a homelike abode of most de- 
sirable guests. It is the oldest first-class hotel in the village, and has 
every convenience to be expected in its place. 

Mr. Hatch married, March 15, 1887, Miss Jennie Allen, who was 
born in Canada, daughter of Thomas Allen, of English lineage. One 
son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Hatch, September 11, 1892, and christened 
Floyd A. Mr. Hatch attends the Episcopal church, with his wife, and is 
a stanch Republican. He was supervisor of the town of Fine for five 
consecutive years, and also served as school trustee. He does not seek 
political honors, but was elected trustee of Carthage in 1904, to serve two 
years. He is a member of Carthage Lodge, F. and A. M., Carthage 
Chapter, R. A. M., Watertown Commandery, K. T., and Media Temple 
ol the Mystic Shrine. He was master of the Oswegotchie Lodge for two 
years (1900 and 1901), filled all the chairs, and is at present (1904) 
serving as king of the chapter. 

ALEXANDER FIE BALCOM, a representative business man of 
Carthage, is a native of Jefferson county, born November 27, 1847, ''^ 
the town of Clayton. His father, Otis F. Balcom, was a native of New 
Hampshire, son of Otis and Elizabeth (Fuller) Balcom, and was born 
April 6, 1805. He acquired the trade of wagonmaker and carpenter, 
and when about twenty-six years old came to this state. He was mar- 
ried about 1833 to Catherine, daughter of George and Maria (Hart) 
Fie, of Holland Dutch ancestry. She was born December 18, 1813, near 
Johnstown, New York. He continued to work at wagonmaking during 
his active life, being first located in Clayton, whence he moved to Water- 
town. Returning to Clayton, he bought a small piece of ground on 
which he resided, but continued many years as a wagonmaker at 
Depauville. In 1858 he moved to the town of Montague, Lewis county, 
and a year later to the town of Croghan, where he died October 18, 1868. 

Air. Balcom was a Universalist in religious faith, and espoused the 
cause of Americanism during the days of the "Know Nothing" agitation. 
He was subsequently a "free soil" Democrat, and voted for Abraham 
Lincoln for president. 

All of his eight children are living, as follows : Cornelia .Margaret 
is the widow of John Sherman, residing on a farm in the town of Clay- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 513 

ton. Elizabeth Fuller is the widow of James Courtney, of the same 
place. Ella Melissa, Mrs. Albert Parker, resides in Carthage. Charles 
Riley is a farmer of Rutland, and Alexander F. is mentioned further in 
this article. Oscar Aurelius is a builder of San Antonio. Texas, and his 
younger brother, George Hart, is associated with him. Imogene, wife of 
William Van Etten, resides in Carthage. 

A. F. Balcom grew up from the age of eleven years in Lewis county, 
and received his education in the district schools. When fourteen years 
old he began working on farms in summer and in the lumber woods in 
winter and since eighteen years of age has been identified with lumbering 
operations and machinery. For many years he worked in sawmills, and 
became a sawyer and filer. For seven years he was continuously in the 
service of H. J. Goodwin, during six of which he was a filer. In the 
year 1873 he went to Texas and remained one year, and all the rest of 
his life has been passed in this section of his native state. 

In 1887 he formed a partnership with J. W. Brace, under the style 
of Brace & Balcom, and they built a veneer mill at Carthage, which they 
operated three years. At the end of this period they dissolved partner- 
ship, and Mr. Balcom associated himself with Augustus Kesler in the 
operation of a veneer mill, which was destroyed by fire at the end of a 
year. Mr. Balcom then joined George E. Spicer, and they operated a 
similar plant, under the title of Balcom & Spicer, until 1902, when the 
business was closed. Mr. Balcom is one of those skilled operators who 
are never out of sometiiing to do, and is now engaged in installing a 
vcneer-raaking plant. 

An active member of the Methodist church, he is now serving the 
local society as a steward. In early life he was a Democrat, but now acts 
with the Republican party. He is a member of Carthage Lodge No. 
158, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; of Carthage Lodge No. 365, 
and Oriental Encampment No. 135, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; 
and the local lodges of the Royal Arcanum, Order of United American 
Mechanics and Improved Order of Red Men. He has been twice 
sachem of the last-named body, and has passed the chairs of the Odd 
Fellows" bodies. He is now serving his fourth year as trustee of the vil- 
lage of Carthage. 

Mr. Balcom was married. October 27, 1875. to Miss Anna J. La- 
Rock, daughter of Joseph and Lucinda (Carkner) LaRock. both natives 
of Canada, of French and German descent. Mrs. LaRock is now de- 
ceased, and Mr. LaRock resides with his daughter, Mrs. Balcom. The 



5U GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

latter was born in Carthage, and is a helpmeet and companion of her 
husband in all that pertains to the social life of the town, as well as in 
domeslic concerns. She is now vice-grand of Carthagenian Rebekah 
Lodge No. 238. and is valued as one of its most active and useful mem- 
bers. Two children complete the family, namely: Roy A. and Ralph J. 
Ealconi. 

FREDERICK ELMER HEMLN'GS, superintendent of the Car- 
thage Machine Company, has made his way by industry, perseverance 
and studious attention to the details of work placed in his hands. He is 
a native of this state, born January 20, 1862, at Mottville, Onondaga 
county. His grandfather, Isaac Hemings, came from England and 
settled on a farm in Onondaga valley, where he died at the age of 
ninety-two years, and his W'ife passed away at the age of eighty-seven 
years. He was a pious and conscientious man, and set an example 
wiirthy of emulation. His children were : Cornelius, who was killed 
bv the cars at Syracuse; James, who died at Belle Isle, New York; 
William, a resident of Syracuse ; John, spoken of more fully below , 
INIarv, wife of William Masters, of Syracuse; and Alfred, who died in 
igo2, at Onondaga Hill. 

[ohn Hemings was but a child when he came with his father to 
America. He was early apprenticed to the trade of molder. and followed 
it all his life in Syracuse and at Mottville. He died at the latter place 
October 13, 1889, aged fifty-four years. He was married about 1858 
to Harriet, daughter of William Rounds, a teamster of Hartlot, Onon- 
daga county, where she was born. She passed away in July, 1887, at 
the age of forty-seven years. The following accounts for their children, 
in order of age: Ida is the widow of George Shortman, residing at 
North Adams. Massachusetts. Frederick E. is the gentleman whose 
name introduces this notice. Carrie married Frank Williams, and lives 
at Mottville. Isaac Newton resides at Syracuse. George at Seneca Falls, 
W^illiam at Syracuse, and John at Mottville. 

Frederick E. Hemings grew up at Mott\'ille, attending the village 
school until t\\'elve ^■ea^s old. Init he is chiefly self-educated. .\t the age 
of twelve years he entered the woolen mill in his native place, and by 
the time he was fifteen years of age he was the Ixiss spinner of the 
establishment, a position which he had won l)y untiring diligence and an 
effort to excel. While in this occupation he became convinced that he 
could succeed lietter if he mastered the trade of machinist, and shortlv 




, yvOz^c^^ty^^t^^ 



516 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

wi"-, anil IIenr\- died in Rentsburg. Louisa married William Settenfield, 
who kept a hotel in the city of Hamburg. 

Nicholas Schmid, the youngest of his father's children, is the only 
one who came to America. He received a good educational training in 
the schools of his native city, and was apprenticed to the trade of baker 
at the age of fifteen years. His preceptor was an uncle in the town of 
I'landsburg, and he served three years as apprentice at the baker's trade. 
He subsequently worked as a journeyman in Schleswig, and visited many 
cities of Europe, including Vienna and Copenhagen, and perfected himself 
in the usages of his trade in many lands. In 1861 he set out for America, 
determined to establish himself in business and make a home. His first 
objective point was Lafargeville. in this county, whither he had been 
induced to go by acquaintances formed on the vessel which brought him 
o\-er the Atlantic. After working fourteen days on a farm there, he de- 
cided that lie did not wish to be a farmer, and went to Watertown, where 
he found employment as a baker with Quencer & Sons, and was soon 
made foreman of their baking establishment. 

Since 1869 Mr. Schmid has been a resident of Carthage, and he 
soon established a name for integrity, industry and good business judg- 
ment, and has long been reckoned among the successful merchants of the 
village. His first bakery was situated in Lower State street, next door to 
his present location. In 1884 he purchased the building he occupied, 
and remodeled and improved it for a bakery and grocery store. 
December 18, 1903, the building was destroyed by fire. Mr. Schmid 
is now arranging to replace it, and in the meantime is carrying on busi- 
ness in a building in the rear of the one destroyed. He has ever enjoyed 
the patronage of many families of the vicinity, baking his own product, 
and also keeping a complete line of groceries and kindred goods, such as 
are found in first-class establishments of the kind. Mr. Schmid is a 
member of the Lutheran church. He is a sound Republican, but desires 
no office. 

He was married in March, 1870, to Sarah Mooney, who was born in 
the North of Ireland, a daughter of Thomas Mooney, with whom she 
came to America when a small child. Three of ]\Ir. Schmid's four chil- 
dren are now living. Lucy Louise, the eldest, is the wife of David Guer- 
ncr: she has two children — Francis Schmid and Christian Nicholas. The 
family reside on West street, Carthage. Christian N. is the proprietor 
of a grocery and fruit store on State street. Garfield W. is a jeweler, 




^^^2^q^ U7y?^rT:z^^ 




GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 517 

with store adjoining his father's. All are industrious and thrifty citi- 
zens, a credit to their parents and their native town. 

LLOYD OSGOOD WOODRUFF, an active and prominent factor 
in the commercial, financial and fraternal circles of the town of Cape 
Vincent, Jefferson county, New York, is a native of the same county 
and state, having been born in Watertown, October 13, 1841. Norris 
M. Woodruff, his paternal grandfather, was a prominent citizen of 
Watertown, of whom extended mention appears in this work. The 
subject of this sketch is the only lineal descendant living. 

Horace W. Woodruff, father of Lloyd O. Woodruff, was born in 
Watertown, Jefferson county. New York, February 12, 1819, and died 
in Brooklyn, New York, October 12, 1891. For a number of years he 
was the owner and operator of a foundry in Watertown, and he also 
devoted considerable time to agricultural pursuits. By industry and 
perseverance both these enterprises proved successful, and he was en- 
abled to provide his family with a comfortable home, and at the same 
time accumulate a competency for his declining years. His wife, whose 
maiden name was Mariah Ann Osgood, was born in Watertown, New 
York, June 6, 1816, a daughter of Colonel Samuel W. and Sophia 
(Nichols) Osgood, and died at St. Louis, Missouri, December 29, 1890. 
Three children were born to them, namely : Lloyd Osgood, born Octo- 
ber 13, 1841, mentioned hereinafter; Helen S., born December 23, 1844, 
widow of Edgar E. Moffatt, residing in St. Louis, Missouri ; and Emma 
M., born Dece!nber 5, 1846, married Henry E. Wilkins, and died Octo- 
ber I, 1892, in Springfield, Massachusetts. Mrs. Woodruff traced her 
ancestry to John Osgood, who was born July 23, 1595, in Wherwell, 
Hampshire, England. He married about 1627, Sarah, who died April 
8, 1667. He came to New England in 1638 and died October 24, 
165 1, in Andover, Massachusetts. 

(H) Stephen Osgood, son of John and Sarah, was born abouf 
1638, in Ipswich or Newbury, and married, October 24, 1663, Mary 
Hooker, of Andover, where he was a farmer. He died January 15, 
1690-1. 

(HI) Hooker Osgood, son of Stephen and Mary, was born Au- 
gust 24, 1668, in Andover, and was married April 26, 1692, to Dorothy 
Wood. He was extremely active in town affairs, was selectman in 
1715, and the next year had license to sell liquor. He died January 
29, 1748, in Lancaster, where he had lived. 



618 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

(IV) Captain David Osgood, of Sterling, Massachusetts, son of 
Hooker and Dorothy, was born October 8, 1698, and married, Novem- 
i>er 3, 1724, Eunice Carter. He was a farmer, and owned a Negro 
slave. He died in 1771, in Sterling. 

(V) Captain Josiah Osgood, of Sterling and Wendell, Massa- 
chusetts, son of David and Eunice, was born October i, 1740. He 
married Jane Byinglon, who died October 2;^, 1822. and he died August 
17. 1830, at Wendell. 

(VI) Samuel, son of Josiah and Jane Osgqod, was horn April 
29, 1764, and married Patty Dow, of Wendell. He was a farmer and 
deacon of the church, and died at Hamilton, New York, in 1829. 

(VH) Colonel Samuel W. Osgood, of Eaton, New York, was 
born April 2^, 1787, and married in 1810, to Sophia Nichols, of Paris, 
New York, who died September 14, 1852. He died in April, 1841, in 
Watertown. 

Lloyd O. Woodruff attended the common school and a boarding 
school at Sand Lake, New York; Walnut Hill School, Geneva, New 
York; and Madison University, Hamilton, Madison county, New York. 
On September 10, i860, he entered the drug store of Kellogg & Conger, 
in Watertown, and on July 5, 1862, established a drug store in the city 
of St. Louis, Missouri, which he conducted successfully for six years. 
The following two years he jjursued the same line of business in Niles, 
Michigan, and since 1870 has conducted an establishment for the sale of 
drugs and chemicals, with a large prescription department and general 
merchandise at Cape Vincent. His ability and trustworthiness as a 
sound business man is demonstrated by the fact that he has been chosen 
to 'serve in the capacity of vice-president of the Cape Vincent Bank ; 
trustee of the Watertown Savings Bank : treasurer of the Cape Vincent 
Agricultural Society, holding the office for a period of almost nine 
years ; first chief of the local Eire Department, serving as foreman of 
the Hook and Ladder Company, and warden of the Fire Company ever 
since its organization at Cape Vincent. He has also been the incumbent 
of various political offices, the princi])al ones ha\-ing' been town clerk 
and super\-isor, to which he was elected on the Democratic ticket. He 
filled the latter named office for elexen years, nine of which were con- 
secutive. His church relations are with St. John's Episcopal church, 
in which he has served as vestryman for a cjuarter oi a century. Fra- 
ternally he is affiliated with Cape Vincent Lodge No. 293, Free and 
Accepted Masons, in which he served as master; Cape Vincent Chapter 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 51'.) 

No. 96, Ro}'aI Arch Masons, of which lie was high priest; VVatertowii 
Commander)' No, 11. Knights Templar: and Media Temple, Nobles of 
the Mystic Shrine. Watertown, New York. 

On October 3, 1864, Mr. Woodruff married Marion R. Babcock, 
of Watertown, New York, who was born at Felt's Mills, Jefiferson 
county. New York, daughter of Henry Holmes and Eliza (Wheeler) 
Babcock (see Babcock, VHI). The children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Woodruff are as follows: Marion C, born at Cape Vincent, July 28, 
1872, a graduate of Miss Graham's School, New York city, who became 
the wife of Charles S. Holcombe, September 30, 1896. Her children, 
all of whom were born at Cape Vincent, but now reside at Bay Ridge, 
New York, are as follows: Henry Woodruff, born October 12, 1897; 
Woodruff, July 8, 1901 ; and Marion E., September 16, 1903. Amelia 
F. Woodruff, born at Watertown, April 29, 1874, died in the city of 
her birth, October 5, 1875. Edith L., born at Cape Vincent, March 24, 
1879, is a graduate of Miss Ely's school. New York city, and is at home 
with her parents. 

FARRAR. This name is derived from Latin and French words, 
signifying "iron," and the first of whom record is found was Walke- 
line de Ferrars, a Norman attached to William the Conqueror previous 
to 1066. His son Henry settled in England soon after the conquest, 
and the name has ever since been known in that country. 

1. Among the original proprietors of Lancaster, Massachusetts, 
were two brothers, John and Jacob Farrar, who were there as early as 
1653, coming, according to tradition, from Lancashire, England. Jacob- 
is supposed to have been thirty years old or more at that time. His 
wife and children remained in England until a suitable residence had 
been prepared for them, and this was in 1658. He lost two sons in 
King Philip's war, and himself died at Woburn, Massachusetts, August 
14, 1677. 

2. Joseph, eldest son of Jacob Farrar, born in England about 1642, 
married ( 1668) Hannah, daughter of George Hayward. He was killed 
by Indians August 22, 1675. 

3. George, second son of Joseph Farrar, was born August 16, 
1670. He married, September 9, 1692, Mary Howe, and settled in that 
part of Concord which is now Lincoln. He was reared on a farm, and 
is said to have been a man of great energy and thrift. Money was not 
plenty in his day, and the boy who possessed a few pennies was regarded 



520 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

with envy by his comrades. It is related of George Farrar that finding 
himself in possession of twenty-five cents on coming of age, he expended 
it in treatmg his fellows, saying he would start fair with the world. He 
died May 15. 1760, in his ninetieth year, and his wife died April 12, 
1761. 

4. Daniel, second son of George and Mary Farrar, was born No- 
vember 30, 1696, married Hannah Fletcher, and settled in Sudbury, 
Massachusetts. He died about 1755. 

5. Daniel, son of Daniel and Hannah Farrar, was born in 1724, 
and married, in 1748. Mary (surname unknown). 

6. Daniel, son of Daniel and Mary Farrar, was born March 25, 
1755. in Lincoln. Massachusetts, and was a soldier in the Revolutionary 
army. After independence was secured he married a daughter of John 
Bruce, and settled m Lincoln, where he remained until 1799. In that 
year he bought a lot in the south part of Marlboro (now Troy), New 
Hampshire, on which he erected a log house the following spring. There- 
after he busied himself in clearing and cultivating his land. He had a 
strong constitution and was capable of much severe labor. He died 
November 13, 1837, and his wife August 20, 1838. They were the 
parents of eleven children. 

7. John Bruce, sixth child and fourth son of Daniel Farrar, was 
born December 17, 1787, in Lincoln, Massachusetts. He was married 
August 15, 1810, to Anna, daughter of Timothy and Martha (Long) 
Harvey, who was born in Marlboro, New Hampshire. He settled in 
Hinsdale, and afterward lived in Marlboro, where he died October 14, 
1854. He was a clothier by trade, and operated both cloth mills and 
sawmills, beside farming. He was a Universalist in religious faith, 
and his wife a Baptist. In politics he was an old-time Democrat. After 
his death his widow came to Carthage and lived with her son, dying 
January 14, 1870. Their children were eight in number. Samantha, 
the eldest, married Moses Wooster, and died at Atkinson, Illinois. Ade- 
line died at Carthage, unmarried. Emily married (first) William Joues, 
and (second) William J. Bentley, of Carthage, where she died. Amanda, 
wife of Loren C. Frost, died 'at Keene, New Hampshire. Sarah died 
young, and Martha became the wife of Frank D. Hall, and resides at 
Winchenden, Massachusetts. John Eldredge is a retired resident of 
Carthage. 

8. Harvey Daniel Farrar, youngest child of John B.. was born 
March 2, 1828, in Marlboro, Cheshire county, New Hampshire, and re- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 521 

niained upon the home farm there until eighteen years old. In the 
meantime he attended the graded schools of the village of Marlboro, 
and was well equipped for a business career when he left school. \Vhen 
eighteen years of age he entered a woodenware shop in his native town, 
where he continued to labor six years. Having become thoroughly 
familiar with the work of making tubs, pails and similar wares, he went 
to New Brunswick and spent a year in installing a similar factory there. 
Mr. Farrar became a resident of Carthage in 1853, ^^^ ^^ o"'^^ P^''" 
chased an interest in Rice & Sutton's woodenware factory, continuing 
in this association three years. In 1856 he built a shop and continued 
to operate it individually until 1897. His plant was three times destroyed 
by fire, and after the last disaster he retired from business, sold the power 
to Meyer & Farrar, his son being the junior member in the firm. They 
sold it to the Carthage Sulphite Pulp Company, and abandoned the 
business. Far many years Mr. Farrar (father) did a large business in 
making butter packages and kin.dred articles, and has well earned a rest 
from business activity. He is the owner of a farm of one hundred and 
twenty-six acres in the town of Denmark, to which he gives considerable 
attention, though it is rented. 

Mr. Farrar is an active member of the Baptist church of Carthage, 
being clerk of the society and a trustee. He has seen two church edifices 
of this society burn, and was on the building committee which replaced 
it in both cases. Fie is a steadfast Republican, but no politician, and has 
often declined official station. 

He was married June i, 1853, to Miss Caroline R. McCollester, 
who died October 8. 1854. January i, 1862, he married her sister, 
Ellen A., daughter of Silas and Achsah (Holman) McCollester, of Marl- 
boro. New Flampshire. A son, born of the first marriage, is spoken of 
further in the following paragraph. A daughter, Edith, now twenty- 
eight years old, is the wife of Dr. C. F. Adams, of Carthage, and they 
are the parents of a son, William Darwin. 

9. ^\'illiam Silas Farrar, son of Harvey D. and Caroline R. Far- 
rar, was born July 2. 1854, in West Carthage, and grew up in that 
village, in whose public schools he was educated. At the age of nine- 
teen years he entered his father's factory and continued four years, be- 
coming expert in the manufacture of tubs and pails. In 1878 he went 
to St. Joseph, Michigan, where he dealt in fruit four years with success. 
Returning to Carthage he became a partner of his father in woodenware 
production, continuing until the great fire of 1884, which destroyed the 



522 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

plant. He tlien Iniilt a sawmill, ami continued to manufacture lumber 
and shingles until the mill was destroyed by fire in 1S97. Since then he 
has been a member of the firm of Meyer & Farrar. which makes furni- 
ture exclusively and is doing a prosperous business. 

Mr. Farrar is a member of Carthage Lodge No. 365, Oriental En- 
campment No. 135. also Canton Omor No. 62. Patriarchs Militant, all 
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and the local lodges of the 
Royal Arcanum and Tribe of Ben Hnr. He attends the Baptist church, 
and is a stanch Republican. He was married October 2, 1883, to Miss 
Jessie Fremont Woodruff, born in Chicago, Illinois, a daughter of John 
and Abby (Rowe) Woodrufif. Her mother was a native of Orange 
county, this state. A daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Farrar, but is 
now deceased. 

JOHN HENRY CARNEY, a successful business man of Carthage, 
where he has lived for fifteen years, is self-made in every sense. His 
grandfather, Michael Carney, was a farmer near the city of London- 
derry, Ireland, where he died. His wife was a McSwain. Their son, 
John Carney, was well educated, and came to America when a young 
man, landing in Canada. He enlisted there in the British army, and 
served over a year as a soldier. After this he came to New York and 
worked on the construction of the Black River canal. He soon settled 
on a farm at Boonville, where he died May 16, 1862, at the age of fifty- 
five years. His first wife, Mary Hartwell, was a member of a family of 
weavers near Londonderry. She died in the spring of 1844, and the 
subject of this sketch was thus early left without a mother's care. The 

father afterward married Mary (Jefferson), widow of King. 

She still survives, and resides on the homestead at Boonville. Mr. Car- 
ney was a member of the Roman Catholic church, and a Dtemocrat in 
politics. , 

The children of John and Mary (Hartwell) Carney are accounted 
for as follows : Catherine and Agnes died young. Mary is the widow of 
James Holt, and lives in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Michael was 
drowned at the age of sixteen years, and John H. is the youngest. Three 
children were born of the second marriage. Henry, the eldest, was a 
soldier in defense of the Union, and was killed in the defenses about 
Washington, four miles from that city. Matilda died in girlhood. James 
is now a merchant at Port Leyden. 

John H. Carney was born December 16, 1843. and was only a few 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 6^13 

months old wlien death took away his mother. He had httle opportunity 
for attending school, the whole time thus occupied not exceeding six 
months. In his childhood he was much neglected, and he left home at 
the age of twelve years. When he was fourteen years old he was able 
to earn something by working on farms, and he has made his way suc- 
cessfully in life, which is much to his credit, from a very discouraging 
beginning. He nursed his father through an attack of typhoid fever and 
the ravages of a malignant cancer, which caused his demise. 

For some years Mr. Carney was employed as a driver, and became 
identified with lumbering operations, drifting into the keeping of board- 
ers at lumbering centers, his first undertaking in this line being at Moose 
River, New York. For five years he kept a boarding house at Sterling 
Run, Cameron county, Pennsylvania, and subsequently kept a meat 
market at Port Leyden, New York, two years. He next conducted a 
hotel at Moose River five years, and for two years kept a store at Port 
Leyden. These experiences had especially fitted him for the management 
of a first-class hotel, and in 1888 he sold out his store and bought the 
Levis house in Carthage, which he conducted successfully for a period 
of twelve years to a day, selling out to the present proprietor, George W. 
Hatch, April i, 1901. In 1899 he purchased the spacious and handsome 
home which he occupies, on West street, Carthage, and has lived retired 
from active business since leaving the hotel. He is the owner of a fine 
farm near the village, but does not till it himself. He is a member of St. 
James's Roman Catholic church of Carthage, with his family. In poli- 
tics he is somewhat independent, though he usually votes the Democratic 
ticket. He is not a seeker after office, and has refused the nomination 
to many responsible ofiices. At the earnest solicitation of friends he 
consented to be a candidate for village trustee at the last election, and is 
now capably filling that position. 

Mr. Carney was married September 18, 1867, to Miss Annie Shee- 
han, who was born in County Cork, Ireland, a daughter of Biennis and 
Mary Sheehan, who immigrated to the United States when Mrs. Carney 
was five years of age. Three of the five children of Mr. and Mrs. Car- 
ney are living. Ellen, the first born, died at the age of one year. Frances 
is the wife of Walter Elliott, residing in Carthage. Mary died when 
seventeen years old. John and Norah are at home with their parents. 

ZELOTUS SIMS, a prosperous business man of Carthage, is a 
descendant of one of the oldest families in the cininty, and preserves 



65(4 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

the characteristics of his hardy Scotch ancesti^, being a shrewd business 
man and an intelligent observer of events in human history. He was 
bom September 20, 1835, in the town of Antwerp, a son of Robert Sims 
and Sarah Jane Sweet, his wife. 

The name was spelled "Sim" in Scotland, and received a terminal 
"s." like many others, on arrival in this country. Robert Sim, a native 
of Aberdeen, Scotland, left home when sixteen years old to join an elder 
brother vvho was established in mercantile business in New York. Before 
his arrival his brother died, and he found himself without friend or 
relative in a strange land. But he was made of stern stuff, and set to 
work to make a way for himself. He had received a fair education in 
the schools of his native city, and soon engaged in teaching. For some 
years he lived in Connecticut, and was established for a time in Albany, 
whence he came to the wilderness of Antwerp, in Jefferson county. He 
was a very scholarly man, a fine penman, and little inured to the hard- 
ships of pioneer life and did not long survive them, dying about 1825. 
He had lost one of his limbs on account of a fever sore, and this handi- 
capped him in the clearing of a new country. His wife, Lydia Hanks, 
was a native of Connecticut, and died at Antwerp, March 8, i860, aged 
ninety-two year?. Most of their children were born in Connecticut. 
Nancy, the eldest, married Eli Whitford, a farmer of Antwerp, and they 
w^ent to Salt Lake and joined the Morman colony. Margaret became the 
wife of Archibald Whitford, a teacher of mathematics, who spent twenty 
years in teaching in the schools of Watertown, in which city both passed 
away. Mr. Whitford was much aided in his early studies by his future 
wife's father, who was well skilled in mathematics. Sarah, the third 
child of Robert Sims, married Josiah Drake, a native of Massachusetts, 
who was a farmer in Antwerp, where both died. Lydia became the 
W'ife of Isaac Thompson, and died in Antwerp. George died, over ninety 
years of age, at Afton, Wisconsin, where he had served as postmaster. 
Ruth married Edward Gould, a Methodist preacher, and died in Ohio. 
Robert is the subject of a following paragraph. Eliza, the eighth, mar- 
ried David Macomber, and lived and died at Three-Mile Bay. The 
father of these was among the first to be buried by the Freemasons at 
Antwerp, and this event caused considerable comment. He was a most 
upright man, austere in his adherence to principle, and abhorrent of any- 
thing little or mean. 

Robert Sims, junior, was born January 14, 1806, probably in Albany, 
and grew up in Antwerp. He was an athletic man and cleared up land 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 525 

which he bought in that town. His end came early, in an unfortunate 
and unforeseen manner. In the frohcs incident to a frontier "raising," 
he engaged in a wrestHng match and received internal injuries which 
caused his death. This occurred October 20, 1841, on the occasion of 
raising a barn on the farm of Robert Ormiston, in Antwerp, his antag- 
onist being a mute, named Robert Bell, a noted wrestler of the time and 
neighborhood. Mr. Sims's injury came about through the slipping of his 
foot while under severe muscular strain. 

He was married in December, 1834, to Sarah J. Sweet, a native 
of this county, who survived him many years. She was married March 
23, 1845, to Sylvester Hall, and lived some years in Watertown, \vhere 
she died March 5, 1886. By her marriage to Mr. Sims she became the 
mother of four children — Zelotus, Ruth, Elbridge B. and George. The 
daughter is the wife of Marshall P. Wright, and resides on Mechanic 
street, Watertown. The second son is a resident of Antwerp, and the 
youngest of Philadelphia. 

Zelotus Sims grew to manhood in his native town, attending the dis- 
trict school until eighteen years old. In the meantime, he had spent one 
year in the family of Dr. Murdock, of Philadelphia, New York, where 
he made himself useful and thus aided in sustaining himself. When 
eighteen years old he went upon the Great Lakes and learned caulking 
and navigation. After six years on the lakes he went into the woods, 
working as a carpenter and as saw-yer and contractor about sawmills and 
in lumbering. He was thus employed five years at South Hammond, 
and subsequently spent three years in the employ of Anderson Brothers, 
tanners and lumberinen, at Boonville. • He was industrious and prudent 
in rhe care of his earnings, and was shortly enabled to go in business on 
his own account. 

In the fall of 1869 Mr. Suns became a resident of Carthage, where 
he has remained ever since. For several years he operated the Coburn 
sawmill, Vvhich stood on the west side of the river and was destroyed 
some years since. May 16, 1894, Mr. Sims bought the grocery business 
of John Scanlan, which he has since continued to conduct upon the same 
site. It IS located on Alexandria street, opposite the Gill House, and 
here he caters to the wants of a large and growing line of domestic 
trade. His patrons include many of the best families of the village, and 
he takes care to be prompt in the delivery of staple and genuine goods, 
which accounts for his popularity with his customers. A wide-awake 
and industrious business man, he earns the success which is his. For the 



626 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

past twemv-eiglit years he has been a niember of the jNIethodist church, 
the onl\' society with whicli he is affihated. He has ever sustained the 
principles of the Repubhcan party, liut does not desire public station. 

I\Ir. Sims was married in 1861. to Miss Eliza Webster, who was 
Ijorn in South Hammond, New York, a daughter of Samuel Webster, 
a cousin of Daniel Webster, the noted statesman. Samuel Webster was 
among the earliest settlers of South Hammond, where he became a large 
landholder. His wife, Harriet Beach, was a native of Canada, born near 
Brockville. Mrs. Sims died January 2. 1894, and in October, 1895, Mr. 
Sims married Carrie, widow of Addison Paris, and daughter of William 
and Betsey Ervin. The latter was a daughter of Adam Ormiston, of 
Wilna. There are two children of the tirst marriage — George Robert 
and Arthur Webster, both of whom are engaged in assisting their father 
in business. 

George R. Sims was born November 3. 1863, in Hamnn)nd. and 
was married December 26, 1892, to Alice McCarty, a native of Thanes- 
fcrd, Ontario, daughter of Eleazur McCarty, of Scotch lineage. The 
last named died when Alice was small, and his widow subsequently mar- 
ried William Valentine, and lived in Detroit, Michigan. Mr. Sims is 
an earnest Republican, but no ofifice-seeker, and is affiliated with the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Tribe of Ben Hur, and is a 
member of the local Business Men's Association. During the last six 
vears he has developed considerable skill as a mineralogist and assayer. 

CHARLES JOSEPH REEDER, cashier of the National Ex- 
ch.ange Bank of Carthage, is descended from very old American fam- 
ilies. His paternal ancestor, who came from Germany, bore the name 
of Leser. which is the German word signifying "reader." and it was 
found desirable upon his removal to England, to Anglicize the name, 
which was done by translating it literally, with the slight change in 
spelling. 

(I) In 1734 Chailes Reeder came from England and settled in 
Bucks countv, Pennsylvania. He was the father of Joseph Reeder ( II ), 
who passed his lite m Bucks county. 

(Ill) In 1798 Job, son of Joseph Reeder, moved from central 
Pennsylvania to Erie county, in that state, and passed the remainder of 
his life there. In 1800 he married Nancy Campbell, a daughter of James 
Campliell. who ser\-ed as a soldier in the Revolution, and was held a 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISI'ORV. 527 

prisoner tliree moiUlis by the British. His wife Jane was a sister of the 
grandniotlier of Abraham Lnicohi, who Hved in Bucks county. 

(IV) James Reader, second child of Job and Nancy Reeder, 
passed his life in Erie county, on the borders of Crawford county, own- 
ing land in both counties. He married Polly, daughter of Isaac and 
Hetty Taylor, who came from New Salem, Franklin county, l^Iassachu- 
setts, to Pennsylvania in i8iS. Isaac Taylor was a son of Abraham 
and Molly Taylor, of ^Vorcester county, Massachusetts. James and 
Polly Reeder had thu'teen children. 

(V) Isaac Reeder, fourth son of James and Polly Reeder, was 
born December 6, 1832, in Conneauttee. Erie county, Pennsylvania, 
where he now resides. He has always been a very active business man 
and has traveled much. His time has been given much to the manu- 
facture of lumber and woodenware, such as pumps and the operation of 
planing mills. He is now the proprietor and operator of two sawmills, 
and also of extensive farms. Both he and his wife are members of the 
Presbyterian church, in which he is an elder. In politics he is a stanch 
Republican, but has ne\'er desired or accepted official honors. Of his five 
children only two survi\-e, namely : Charles J., and Annie Giles, who 
resides with her parents. 

Sarah Giles, wife of Isaac Reeder, is the youngest of the ten chil- 
dren of Joseph Giles, who came from New Salem, Massachusetts, to 
Pennsylvania in 1818. His ancestors came originally to this country 
from northern England. His father, John Giles, was married to Hannah 
Gould, his second wife, January 31, 1789. By a former marriage ht 
had eight children, and Joseph was one of the five borne him by Hannah 
Gould. Joseph Giles married Tyla Crossette, a granddaughter of 'Archi- 
bald and Sarah (Savage) Crossette. Israel, son of Archibald Crossette, 
married Martha Hamilton (a relative of Alexander Hamilton), who was 
born February 15, 1765, and their daughter. Tyla Crossette, was born 
November 9, 1791, and married Joseph Giles, April 18, 18 18. 

Charles J. Reeder was born April 16, 1872, at San Diego, Califor- 
nia, and was reared at Edinboro, Erie county, Pennsylvania, the seat of 
the Northwestern State Normal School of Pennsylvania, from which 
institution he was graduated in 1890. He subsequently studied at Ober- 
lin College and Allegheny College, Meadville. He is a member of the 
Plii Kappa Psi fraternity of the latter institution. After giving some 
time to the lumber business, in association with his father, he was 
engaged as prnate secretary by W. C. Culliertson, of Girard, same state. 



528 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

one of the mosi extensi\'e business men of Pennsylvania, with whom he 
continued two years in that capacity. He subsequently managed the 
extensive canning business of Mr. Culbertson for two years, and was 
located at Erie, where he was also assistant manager of the Erie Transit 
Company, which operates a car line. During most of this time Mr. 
Reeder operated coal yards along this line as a private enterprise, which 
proved profitable and was reluctantly abandoned upon his coming to 
C^irthage. In fulfillment of a previous agreement he came to Carthage 
in January, 1902, to take the position of cashier of the National Ex- 
change Bank, which institution has made a remarkable record in the 
short time of its existence. In the first fifteen months its deposits trebled 
and its resources more than doubled, and its books show more than nine 
hundred depositors. Much of the prosperity may be attributed to the 
personal character of its cashier, who has taken a position in the front 
.^rank of the young and popular business men of the village. He was 
'made a Mason in Oasis Lodge No. 416, of Pennsylvania, and joined 
Temple Chapter No. 215, Royal Arch Masons, of Erie, and now affil- 
iates with the local lodge and chapter, and is also a member of Water- 
town Commaiidery No. 11, Knights Templar, and Media Temple, Nobles 
of the Mystic Shrine, of Watertown. In politics he is a Republican. 

Mr. Reeder was married, January 5, 1898, to Clara Richardson, a 
native of Lowville, New York, who has borne him two sons, Ronald 
Joseph Richardson and Roscoe Giles. Rufus J. Richardson, father of 
Mrs. Reeder, has long been foremost among the progressive and suc- 
cessful business men of Lowville. His parents, Joel and Caroline 
(Mason) Richardson, came from Berkshire county, Massachusetts, and 
settled early in Martinsburg, Lewis county, New York, where Rufus 
was born. Jonathan Rogers was one of the first settlers at Lowville. 
His son, George L. Rogers, married Sallie Salmon, and their daughter, 
Jennie, became the wife of Rufus J. Richardson. 

MARIETTA HOLLEY, who as author of the "Samantha'" volumes, 
by "Josiah Allen's Wife," is known to delighted thousands in all parts 
of the United States, is a native of Jefferson county. She was the young- 
est in a family of six children. Her father, John Holley, was a farmer, 
living on the road between x\dams and Pierrepont Manor, the present 
home of Miss Holley, and where she was born. Five generations of the 
Holley family have dwelt in that same spot. 

Miss Holley began her studies in the neighborhood schools, and 




o/^cyi'^^/.r^^ 




GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 629 

pursued advanced brandies at home, taking instruction in l'"rench and 
music from private teachers. She e.xcelled in the latter art, and for 
seme years was known as a capable teacher of the piano. She also' devel- 
oped a talent for painting, and had dreams of becoming an artist. Her 
early school books were covered with faces and bits cf landscape. Her 
taste for literatuie, however, proved her governing passion, and led to 
her devoting the major part of her time to her pen. In 1873 she pub- 
lished her fiist volume, "My Opinions and Betsy Bobbett's," and it 
proved a success at the outset, encouraging her to efforts which have 
made her name fanuliar not only throughout the country, but also 
abroad. She subsequently published "j\Iy Wayward Partner," "Miss 
Richards's Boy,'" and "The Mormon Wife," the last-named an illus- 
trated poem. Her fame chiefly rests, however, upon the world-famous. 
"Samantlia" volumes — "Samantha at the Centennial," 1876; "Samantha 
at Saratoga," "Samantha Among the Brethren," "Sweet Cicely," "Sa- 
mantha Among the Colored Folks," "Samantha at the World's Fair," 
ard "Samantha at the St. Louis Exposition." She also published a book 
of poems, which a good many critical judges pronounced her best work. 
The commendations which have been bestowed upon her writings have 
been profuse and cordial, and among her admirers are numbered many 
of the litterateurs of the country. Benson J. Tossing, the historian, said : 
'"Like Cervantes, who set Europe a-laughing the tomfooleries of chivalry 
out of existence; like Whittier, who dismissed a barbarous law from 
our statute books by the burning words of his 'Prisoner for Debt;' 
like Mrs. Stowe, who pierced the heart of slavery with her pen — Miss 
Holley's books are domg in a quiet way a great work for the promotion 
of needed social reforms." Bishop Newman pronounced her books "An 
antidote for the blues , a tonic for mental prostration ; a provocation for 
wholesome laughter, and an inspiration to Godliness." And Whittier, 
the genial Quaker poet, paid her the following excellent tribute : "With 
the wit and wisdom of Josiah Allen's wife I have long been familiar. I 
read thy beautiful poem, 'The Deacon's Daughter,' with moist eyes; 
it is perfect." Abroad her works have been favorably reviewed by 
some of the first literary journals in England — the London Literary 
World, the Christian Couunonwcalth, and the Christian Globe. Miss 
Holley's works have been translated into various foreign languages, and 
in spite of the home flavor which makes them so peculiarly delicious 
to an American, so abound in homely philosophy, delicate humor, keen 



630 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

satire and healthful pathos, that their lessons are deeply impressed and 
carrv without loss of effect. 

'Miss Hollev's home, near Adams, is one of the most beautiful home 
places in all the' lake region. Its localized name is "Bonnie View," and 
its approach is known as "Garden Road." Here Miss Holley passes sev- 
eral months of each year, and here much of her best work has been per- 
formed. The grounds comprise a fine tract of seven acres, fringed with 
stately forest trees. The residence is entirely modern, yet of a homelike 
and unpretentious type. Its interior adornments are such as bespeak a 
highly cultivated and yet domestic taste. Here Miss Holley has been 
visited bv men and woman of the highest types of American and foreign 
<;p(.iety— statesmen, philosophers, poets and painters— and her albums 
and the pictures upon the walls bear almost speaking evidence of their 
presence, and their appreciation for the gifted woman whom they de- 
light to call a friend. Far from being a woman of leisure, yet Miss 
Hollev is unaffectedlv genial and hc;spitable. and many who came with no 
other motive than a refined curiosity, have departed with an enhanced 
admiration for one wiio has sent sunshine into so many distant homes. 
And so the poetry of her nature finds expression not alone from her pen, 
but by those loving services which make her presence a benediction 
upon all who are brought near her. 

FRANK JONAS GORDON, a popular railroad conductor resid- 
ing in Carthage, New York, was born December 24. 185,^ i" Martins- 
burg. Lewis county, this state, and has passed his life in this section. 
His grandfather, David T. Gordon, came to this country from the neigh- 
borhood of F;dinburgh, Scotland, at the age of seventeen years, and set- 
lied at Martinsburg. He died there about 1832, aged over sixty years. 
A milhvriglit by trade, he found ample occupation in the vicinity of his 
home. He was a member of the Presbyterian church. His wife, Emily 
Carter, was Ijorn at Lowville. her parents coming trom Massachusetts. 
Among the early settlers of Massachusetts was Rev. Thomas Carter, 
the first settled minister at W'oburn. and most of the name in this country 
were descended from him. Mrs. Gordon survived her husband, and 
reached the age of eighty-seven years. They had six sons and a daugh- 
ter. The eldest of these. Carter Gordon, lived the last forty-five years 
of his life at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Solon died in Lowville in 1901. 
Milton C. was the tliird. Cyrus died in Sheboygan, ^^'isconsin. Frank 
Carter died in iqoi. in Lincoln. Nebraska. Andrew Jackson is now a 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 531 

resident of Lu\\\ille. .\h'ina E. married .\l\iii T. Rice, wlui lias main- 
tained a stock ranch at Reno, Nevada, for more than forty years. 

?\liIton Carter (lordon was liorn October lo, T823. at Martinshurg. 
and died Octoher 3, 1894. He li\ed all his life near Luwville, in the 
town of Martinshurg-, having a farm of four hundred acres upon which 
he maintained a dairy of sixt}- cows and raised hops for forty years. 
He was married there to ]\Iehital;el, daughter of Jonas and Sarah 
(Greene) Henry, of Massachusetts, who died Septemher 11. 1877. He 
was a I-'resb\'terian, and a member of the Masonic lodge and chapter at 
Lowville. He was an abolitionist, and like all his family a Republican. 
The subject of this sketch is the eldest, and only survivor, of his four 
sons. Frederick Andrev,-, the second, was killed by a fall from a high 
building at Salt Lake City m 1891. Henry Hamilton died at the age 
of three years, and Clinton at twenty-one. 

Frank J. Gordon grew up on the farm in Martinshurg, attending 
the local district school and Martinshurg Institute. After attending 
Oberlin College, Ohio, for two years, he was compelled to abandon his 
studies by the illness of his father, being then in his twentieth year. 
He entered the railroad office at Lowville as clerk, and learned telegraphy 
there and in the Carthage office, spending three years in this way. He 
then went upon the road as brakeman, and after five months of this serv- 
ice, was promoted to conductor on a passenger train, in which capacity he 
has continued since July 10, 1876. All of his service has been given on 
the Utica division of the R. W. & O. Railroad. He is next to the oldest 
employe on that division, and the third oldest (jii any branch of that road. 
He has made his home in Carthage since coming here as clerk in the 
station. In 1885 he built his handsome home on School street, on a lot 
puichased from the school district, occupied previous to the great fire of 
1884 l^y a school building. He is a Free Mason of high degree, affiliat- 
ing with Carthage Lodge and Chapter, Watertown Commandery. 
Knights Templar, Media Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of the 
same city, and Utica Council. He is also a member of the Mechanical 
Engineers' Club of Syracuse, of the Order of Railway Conductors, and 
of the Episcopal church at Carthage. In politics, he is a Republican. 

Mr. Gordon was married September 4, 1877, to Miss Lily Owen, 
who was born in the town of W'ilna, near Carthage, a daughter of Henry 
and Mary (Burns) Owen, old residents here. One son has been given 
to Mr. and Mrs. Gordon, namely: Rea Milton, born May 26, 1882. He 
graduated at the Carthage High School and pursued a four-vears' course 



532 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

at the Clarkson Scliool of Technology at Potsdam, New York, gradu- 
ating in 1903. and is now a member of the American Society of Mechan- 
ical Engineers, and is employed by the Solvay Company at Syracuse, 
under the special designer, large manufacturers of mechanical appliances, 
with factories at Detroit. Syracuse and in Pennsylvania. 

CHARLES GREGORY, an old-time business man of Carthage, 
has operated on the same site for more than forty-two years in the manu- 
facture and repairing of wagons and sleighs and kindred wares. His 
parents, John and Ann (Bellcw) Gregory, were born and lived to old 
age in County Meath, Ireland, vvdiere John Gregory was a weaver. In 
1853 he emigrated to America with his family, and took up his residence 
in Watertown, this county, where he lived the remainder of his years 
in retirement from active labor. He died within seventeen years after 
his arrival, at the age of eighty-four years, and was soon followed by his 
widow, who was eighty-three years of age at her death. They were the 
parents of eight children. Alice, the first, died at the age of eight years. 
Christopher died in Watertown, this county, at the age of seventy-eight 
years. IMary was twice married, and was the wife of Patrick Hickey 
at the time of her death, in Watertown. Samuel also died in that city. 
George resides there, being a mason builder by trade. Alice is the wife 
of Martin McGrevy, residing in the west, and Sarah is the widow of 
John Kelly, with home in Montague, New York. 

Charles Gregory, youngest child of his parents, was born December 
12, 1834, in Navin, County Meath, Ireland, and was in his nineteenth 
year when he accompanied his family to America. In the next year he 
began learning the blacksmith's trade with James Caldwell, of Water- 
town, with whom he continued two years. At the end of that period 
he bought out a shop at Champion "Huddle," which he conducted seven 
years, and his industry and attention to the interests of his patrons 
brought him success. In 1861, Mr. Gregory became a resident of Car- 
thage, and purchased the shop of C. B. Riner, on the site of his present 
shop, corner of Mechanic and Furnace streets, v.b.ere he has ever since 
conducted business with satisfaction to the public and profit to himself. 
In the great fire of October, 1884, all his buildings were destroyed, but 
were immediately rebuilt, and he now has an excellent plant for his 
business. There was only Rfteen hundred dollars of insurance on the 
premises at the time of the fire, and he made a determined effort to save 
the large number of wagons in the buildings. In the few moments 



GENEALOGICAL AXD FAMILY HISTORY. 535 

allowed by that rapiil and devastating cuntiagration, wliich destroyed a 
large part of the town in a few hours, he saved thirty-three of the thirty- 
eight wagons in the shcip. Init came very near paying his life as a forfeit. 
On his return for the thirty-six*-h wagon he was overcome by smoke, 
and v;as rescued just in time to escape the flames that had licked up the 
buildings and remaining contents within a few minutes after. 

Air. Gregory is a faithful member of St. James's Roman Catholic 
church, the only scjciety with which he is identified. In politics he is a 
Democrat, but does not desire any ofificial honors. He was married, 
in i860, to Miss Margaret Monaghan, who was born in County Down, 
Ireland, and died February 22, 1881, aged forty-six years and seven 
months. She was the mother of five children. The eldest, Alice A., 
born February 8, 1861, is the wife of Frederick Hickey, and resides at 
Passaic, New Jersey. Mary A., born March i. 1863, died when eighteen 
years old. Fanny, March 25. 1866. is the widow of \\'illiam Bellen, 
and resides with her father. Charles John, April 12, 1868, resides at 
Passaic, and George Edward, borii March 3. 1877, died May 8, 1886. 

THOMAS COLLINS, a native of the town of Wilna, has lived 
all his life in and near Carthage, where he is now passing quietly the 
evening of his days. His parents, John and Catherine (McCormick) 
Collins, were born in County Meath, Ireland, where they grew up and 
married, and had two children before coming to America. John Col- 
lins was a brewer by trade, and decided to seek his fortune across the 
ocean, where so many of his compatriots have found homes and inde- 
pendent life. In 1808 he sailed from his native land, and soon found 
employment in Wallingford, Vermont. He continued four years in that 
state, in the same occupation, and then settled in this county. He bought 
eighty acres of land three-fourths of a mile from the present village of 
Carthage, on Alexandria Road, and proceeded to clear and till it. His 
boys soon came to be his able assistants, and all were known as good 
choppers. A fine farm was developed, and on it Mr. Collins continued 
to reside until his death, which occurred in 1875, ^^ the age of ninety- 
two veais. His wife ilied in 1876, one year later, aged eighty-nine 
years. Tliev were among the first members of St. James's Roman Cath- 
olic church, with which they remained faithful members through life. 
Mr. Collins did not take much part in political afifairs, but never failed 
to express his choice by voting the Democratic ticket. Their children 
are briefly mentioned as f(.)llows : Mary, the eldest, married Patrick 



536 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Fitzsimmons, and lived in Wilna, where she died at the age of eighty- 
four years. Patrick died July lo. 1903, aged eighty-nine. John died 
in Wihia when seventy-one years old. Catherine died, unmarried, at 
the age of thirty-two years. Thomas is the fifth. Andrew died of 
typhoid fever many years ago. Ann died when a young lady, unmar- 
ried. 

Thomas Collins was born November 16, 1825, on the farm on Alex- 
andria road, where he grew up. Beside attending the district school, 
he attended the Carthage Academy two terms, and left school when 
sixteen years old. His has been an industrious life, and he took a man's 
place in farm labor on leaving school, and at intervals before that. He 
remained with his parents, for whom he cared in their old days, and 
became possessor of the farm, doubling its acreage. He continued to 
manage the farm, though living in Carthage for the last twenty-five 
years, until 1891, and soon after sold it. He purchased a home at the 
corner of Church and Furnace streets, where he now resides. 

Mr. Collins was associated with A. E. Kilby. M. P. Mason and 
George B. Phelps in the formation of the Empire Steam Pump Com- 
pany, which did a large business for several years at Carthage, estab- 
lishing the plant now occupied by the Adirondack Machine Works. Mr. 
Collins acted chiefly in the capacity of salesman, and was very successful 
in keeping the plant busy for five years. He is an independent thinker, 
and takes an intelligent interest in current events and the National his- 
tory. He has a pride in his native country, and is an enthusiastic Amer- 
ican. For a short time he acted with the Republican party, but is now 
an earnest advocate of Democratic principles. He served some years 
on the village excise board and as collector, but does not seek office for 
himself, though ever ready to assist his friends. 

Mr. Collins was .married January i, 1857, to Miss Rosanna Kenna, 
a native of Wilna. daughter of Michael and Elizabeth Kenna, whose 
farm was near his father's. Michael Kenna was born in Kings county, 
Ireland, as was his wife, Elizabeth Bowen. They came to America in 
1849. and settled on Alexandria road in 1852, and died there. Mrs. 
Collins died March 17, 1888, aged fifty-six years. Both she and her 
husband were among the active members of St. James's church, in which 
he remains a faithful communicant. 

Following is an account of their children: Joseph P. is a resident 
of Seattle, Washington. Mary A. is the wife of Charles G. Keenan, 
residing in Watertown, this countv. Ambrose A. was thirteen years 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 537 

head bookkeeper of the First National Bank of Carthage, and is now 
•in Seattle. EHzabeth C. married Edward Sherry, with whom she resides 
in Boston. Lncy Maria is Mrs. John WhaHng (q. v.), of Carthage. 
Andrew T. was a citizen of San Francisco, Cahfornia, now of Seattle, 
Washington. Helen resides with her father. Fanny Alice is a teacher 
of music in a conservatory at Seattle. Antoinette is the wife of Edward 
McGovcrn, a merchant of Carthage. 

ABRAHAM VROOMAN. One of the progressive and successful 
farmers of the town of Champion, Abraham Vrooman w^as born not far 
from his present residence, the paternal homestead being located in the 
town of Denmark, Lewis county. His grandfather, Abraham Vrooman, 
son of Abraham, lived at Cherry Valley, New York, where the Dutch 
ancestors of the family were among the first settlers. Soon after the 
beginning of the last century, Abraham Vrooman, junior, came to the 
town of Denmark and took up one hundred acres of land and began its 
improvement. Owing to his death in 1813, at the age of about fifty 
years, the land was not paid for, and his family lost it. His wife, Cath- 
erine Merckley, was a daughter of William Merckley, who was killed 
by Indians at the battle of Oriskany. They had three sons, William, 
John and Adam ; and two daughters, Nancy and Angeline. The former 
married Ohver Smith, and lived in the town of Denmark. The latter 
became tiie wife of John Lasher, and lived near Natural Bridge, in the 
town of Diana. 

John Vrooman was born July 9, 1797, at Cherry Valley, and was 
only sixteen years old at the time of his father's death. He had little 
opportunity to attend school, but became a capable business man, and 
commanded the respect of his contemporaries. He experienced many 
hardships in common with the rest of the family, on account of his 
father's early death, but did not repine, and set to work to make a home 
and name for himself. He worked by the month for farmers and saved 
his earnings, sO' that he was able to buy the land on which his son Jacob 
now lives, some three miles from Carthage, in the town of Denmark. 
This he cleared by his own labor, going to the woods in summer with a 
lunch of bread and milk, and working through the long and hot days 
at his self-appointed task. By patient industry he accumulated a large 
property, and owned at one time seven hundred acres of land in the 
towns of Denmark and Champion. This he distributed among his sons 
in 1865, and all are now prosperous citizens of the vicinit}-. He attended 



538 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

strictly to Ins own business, and never sought for opportunity to manage 
public affairs. A reader and intelligent observer of events, he supported 
the Democratic party until it espiaiscd the issues which brought on civil 
war, and after that was a Republican. He was a zealous member of the 
Congregational church at West Carthage, and was treasurer of the 
society and one of the fi\e trustees that erected the ])resent house uf 
worship belonging to it. He died August 7, 1877. and was buried iif 
West Carthage Cemetery. He was married February 24, 1825, to 
Margaret Boshart, who was born August 21, 1800, and died September 
20. 1837. She left a daughter Elizabeth, and son Jacob. The former 
died at the age of nineteen years, and the latter now resides upon the 
paternal homestead, near Carthage. On June 19, 1838, Mr. Vrooman 
was married to Maria Ehle, who was born November 4, 1802, in Maple- 
town. Montgomery county, this state, daughter of Jacob and Jennie 
(Van Every) Ehle. the former a native of Germany and the latter of 
Dutch descent, who lived and died at Mapletown. This marriage resulted 
in the birth of three sons, Charles E., John Erwin, and Abraham. The 
first is now a resident of East Carthage, the second of Deer River, and 
the third is the one whose name begins this sketch. The mother of these 
children died December 10, 1882. 

Abraham Vrooman was born August 12, 1844, on the paternal 
homestead in Denmark, his father's first farm. From early boyhood he 
was accustomed to assist in the care of the harvests, and other labors 
devolving upon the boy on the farm. His education was provided for 
by attendance first upon the district school, and later at the Carthage 
High school and Watertown Institute, which institution he left at the 
age of twenty years. In 1854 the family mi3\ed to the farm now occu- 
pied by Abraham Vrooman, which became his by inheritance as soon as 
lie attained his majority. The farm embraces two hundred and fifteen 
acres, and is tilled with intelligence and skill by its owner. Beside main- 
taining a large dairy, he breeds exclusively a fine strain of Yorkshire 
svvine, and shipping them for breeding purposes to Georgia, Florida, 
North and South Carolina, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and in fact 
nearly all states in the Union. He has also shipped four lots to Cuba. 
Large and convenient buildings are prepared for the comfort of his stock, 
and maintained in good order. In 1886 his house was destroyed by fire, 
and was nnmediately rebuilt after modern designs, making a pleasant 
alx)de for himself and family. Like his father, Mr. Vroomafi seeks no 
political preferment, and is satisfied with the joys of his own fireside. 




fi^ (^-^A.^^ 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 539 

He sustains the Democratic party in elections, and attends the Baptist 
church. 

He was married February 13, 1867, to Miss Flora L. Blddgett, 
who was born in Chaumont, this county, a daughter of William J. and 
Sally Ann (Flenderson) Blodgett, both natives of this county, who 
lived and died at Chaumont. Mr. and Mrs. Vrooman have two chil- 
dren, Adelbert E. and Lavina C, both residing in Carthage. The for- 
mer married Ida Baldwin, of Lowville, and the latter is the wife of 
Arnie Vande Water, and has a daughter. Flora. 

HON. DENNIS O'BRIEN, of \\atertown. New York, an eminent 
lawyer, distinguished statesman, and one of the nine legal representa- 
tives now comprising the Court of Appeals of the State of New York, 
is a man of splendid intellectual attainments and nobility of character. 
He was born at Ogdensb'urg, New York, March 13, 1837. 

After acquiring an excellent English education in the schools and 
seminaries of his native county, he began the study of law at Ogdens- 
burg. New York, and after passing a creditable examination was ad- 
mitted to the bar in May, 186 1. In November of the same year he 
established a law office in Watertown, and there entered upon the pro- 
fessional career which, slowly but steadily, has given him such an 
enviable position in legal circles. In 1869 he was elected an alderman 
of his city, serving in that capacity four successive terms, and was after- 
ward called upon to fill the responsible position of mayor. His judicious 
and conscientious management of these offices gained for him the respect 
and confidence of the greater part of the population of the city, and 
in 1880 he succeeded the late James F. Starbuck as a member of the 
Democratic State Committee. He held this position for four years, 
during which time he improved every opportunity of extending his 
reputation for ability and fidelity beyond the bounds of his county and 
state, and in November. 1883, was elected attorney-general and was 
re-elected in November, 1885, his term of office terminating January 
I, 1888. The following year, as a tribute to his satisfactory public 
service and in a convention composed of the ablest men in his party, 
he was tendered the Democratic nomination for judge of the court of 
appeals, having been nominated with remarkable unanimity, and the 
nomination was ratified by the people at the ensuing election b}- a large 
majority. On January i, 1890, he took his seat iii that court for the 
constitutional term of fourteen years, and was re-elected in 1903. having 



640 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

been unanimously endorsed by both parties. He is now next to the 
senior member in years of service. He is outspoken and fearless in his 
written opinions, exerts a wonderful influence over his associates, and 
is untiring in energy- and courageous in the performance of every obli- 
gation which he considers to be right and just. By genius, energy and 
integrity he has forged his way to the front, and won just fame and 
an eminent position among men. 

HUGH ROBERTS, one of the self-made men of Jefferson county, 
New York, is a native thereof, born February 25, 1845, ^t Felt"s ]\Iills. 
His great-grandfather, Stephen Roberts, was born in Bucks county, 
Pennsylvania, came to this section of the country in 1806, took up four 
hundred and forty acres near the present village of Philadelphia, New 
York, and was one of the first settlers of that town. Stephen Roberts 
and his wife. Jane Roberts, were the parents of five children : Daniel, 
Elias. Hugh, Grace, and Elizabeth. 

Daniel Roberts, grandfather of Hugh Roberts, was born in 1784. 
In early life he served an apprenticeship at the trade of carpenter, and 
he was one of the early settlers of the town of Rutland. In 181 1 he mar- 
ried Sarah Winner, and the children born to them are as follows : Jane, 
who died in 1833; Stephen, who resided in Leraysville; Sarah, who 
became the wife of Brainard Tooker, and died in 1888; Thomas, who 
died in Virginia in 1856: Hugh, mentioned hereinafter; EHza, who 
died at the age of fifteen years; Man', who died in early life; Daniel, 
who died in early life ; Charles, a resident of Rutland ; Mary Jane, who 
resided in Oswego county ; and Joshua. Daniel Roberts, father of these 
children, died in 1866. 

Hugh Roberts, father of Hugh Roberts, was born in Rutland, and 
in early life went to Michigan, where his death occurred. He married 
Adelia Fuller, a native of the same locality, and daughter of Charles W. 
Fuller, who was a descendant of Thomas Fuller, who was born on the 
Mayflower. Charles W. Fuller came from Massachusetts to Rutland 
among the early settlers, located first in Rutland Hollow, and afterward 
in Antwerp, where he died. He was the father of the following named 
children: Laura F., who became the wife of William Smith; Emma, 
who became the wife of Everett Crouch, and after his death became the 
wife of Lewis Miller : and Adelia, who became the wife of Hugh Rob- 
erts, and after liis death she married Charles Loomis. and now resides 
at Felt's Mills. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 541 

Hugh Roberts, only son of Hugh and Adeha Roberts, attended the 
common school at Felt's Mills until 1861. In August, 1862, being then 
but seventeen years of age, he enlisted in Company K, Tenth New York 
Heavy Artillery, with which he served three years, and was honorably 
discharged at the close of the Civil war. This body was engaged chiefly 
in garrison duty, but participated in the battle of Cold Harbor and at 
the last fight before Petersburg, April 2, 1865, and was also located in 
the Shenandoah Valley during Sheridan's operations there. During all 
this time Mr. Roberts acquitted himself as a soldier and as a man. 

Returning to the life of a civilian, he purchased one hundred and 
twenty-five acres on the site of a farm near tlie present Herring mills, and 
followed farming with success up to January i, 1904. In 1895 he sold 
forty acres for the use of the Herring mills and, in that year, superin- 
tended the construction of the pulp mill. Four years later the paper mill 
was constructed and, in 1901, the sulphite mill, all under the supervision 
of Mr. Roberts, who- continued as general superintendent of the property 
until January i, 1904. Here has sprung up an important industry and a 
postoffice has been established, called Herring. Mr. Roberts left there and 
purchased his present home on State street, in Watertown, and is now- 
living retired. Mr. Roberts is a well-informed man, and keeps abreast 
of the times in all matters, social, political and industrial. He is a mem- 
ber of Great Bend Grange, of v>'hich he was master three years, of E. B. 
Steele Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Carthage, and of the Dis- 
ciples' church. A sincere Republican, he has steadfastly refused to be 
a candidate for office, though often urged to do so. He was the first 
postmaster of Herring Mills. 

Mr. Roberts was married September 19, 1866, to Miss Frances 
Jane Anderson, who was born near Central Square, Oswego county, a 
daughter of Calvin and Ann (Auringer) Anderson. Their children 
were: Charles E., who died at the age of seven years: and Mary E., 
who died in November, 1893, aged twenty-three years. She was a 
graduate of the High School of Carthage, and at the time of her death 
was a teacher in the Graded School of that town. 

Ann (Auringer) Anderson was a daughter of F"rancis and Susan 
(VanDenburgh) Auringer (sometimes written Orringer), of Dutch de- 
scent. Calvin Anderson was born in August, 1805, in South Onondaga, 
NcAv York, and died in July, 1882, in North Wilna. Ann Auringer 
was born in 1807, in Pompey, Onondaga county, and died in September, 
1891, in Wilna. Both are buried in Lake School Cemetery. They came 



642 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

to (ireat Beinl in 1S56, and removed to \\'ilna in 1864. They were the 
parents of nine children. Calvin was a son of Calvin Anderson, who 
was horn in 1772, m \\ilIington, Connecticut, and settled on a farm 
at South Hill. Onondaga county, this state, in 1804, and died there in 
August, 1826. He was a son of George Anderson, who came from 
Scotland ahout 1740. and settled in Willington, with his brothers, Robert 
and Thomas, fie had three sons. Calvin, William and Luther. He 
ser\ed in tlie Revolution, being one of Putnam's men. at the Lexington 
alarm, and was colonel of Knowlton's Regiment. (I) Robert Cush- 
man. horn in England in 1583. was among the founders of this nation, 
dying in 1625. (H) Thomas, only son of Robert Cushman, born in 
England, in 1608, was ordained in 1649, and became a noted preacher of 
Massachusetts, dying in 1691. He had several children. (IK) Eleazer 
Cushman, of Plympton. Connecticut, was born in 1657, and died in 1688. 
He had several children. (TV) William Cushman, of Plymouth, Con- 
necticut, born 17 10, died in Willington, same colony, leaving children. 
(V) William Cushman, of Willington, born 1738, died in Stafford. 
Connecticut, in 1820. He married Abi Parker, and had si.x sons and 
several daughters. (VI) Huldah Cushman, born September 16, 1778, 
in Stafford, married Calvin Anderson about 1803, and died at South 
Onondaga in .1866. She made silk, and received several premiums for 
her product. She was the mother of Calvin Anderson, and grandmother 
of ]Mrs. Hugh Roberts. Francis Auringer remo\-ed from Half Moon. 
Saratoga county, to East Hill, Onondaga county, about 1807, and died 
in North Syracuse in 1832. He was also a grandfather of Mrs. Roberts. 

■CHARLES ALBERT GAZIN, storekeeper of the St. Regis Paper 
Com])any at Deferiet, has risen to his present position by the e.xercise of 
energy, industry and integrity. He was born April 16, 1870, near Lidian 
Ri\'cr, in the town of Croghan, Lewis county, this state, a son of Bar- 
tholdmew and Charlotte E. (Van House) Gazin. 

Bartholomew Gazin was bcrn in 1823. at LeGarde, in the Province 
of Brittany, France, cUid came to this coimtrv when three ^•ears old. 
wiili his mother, who was then a widow. He was the youngest of 
eiexen children, all of whom came at the same time. Thev came because 
of die C'lntuiued h(istilit\' nf the then government to all of the old sup- 
porters of the Emperor, then fallen. Napoleon ], and ijurchased land on 
arri\al in New York, at the office of Le Ray. This land lies near Bel- 
fort ])ostoft!ce. in Lewis county, and on it thev settled, and at once ]iro- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 5i3 

ceeded to clear it up. Wlien twenty-nine years old, Bartlmlomew Gazin 
settled on his present farm, where the subject of this sketch was born. 
This is a stony tract, but he set vigorously to work to clear and improve 
it. and now lias a good farm of one hundred and twenty acres, on which 
he conducts a successful dairy. Having been reared here, he is a patro- 
otic American, and adheres to the principles of the Republican party. 
Though eighty years old, he is still a hale and vigorous man. He was 
married in 1853 to Charlotte, daughter of Jacob and Harriet (Franklin) 
House, early residents of Croghan, who removed thither from St. Law- 
rence county about 1830. Jacob House's mother was a Barnhart, of the 
family which owned Barnhart Island, in the St. Lawrence river. The 
family has aljandoned the Dutch prefix "Van." for the name of House. 

Five children ^\•ere l)orn to Bartholomew and Charlotte E. Gazin. 
who are accounted for as follows: LaFayette H. is a resident of Ilion, 
New York. Hattie died in Carthage, leaving a daughter, Charlotte 
Brooks. Elizabeth is the wife of F. J. PufTer, of Carthage. Jacob F. 
cultivates the home farm at Lidian River. 

Charles A., the youngest, grew up from the age of five years at 
Beaver Falls, where he attended the public school. Since he was twelve 
years old he has maintained himself, having left school at the age of 
thirteen. After working a iew months in a lath mill he went into the 
lumber woods as chore-boy about the camps. He continued as woods- 
man and farm hand until after attaining his majority. January i, 1892, 
he enlisted as a private in the United States regular army, and served 
until March 31, 1S95. His ser^'ice consisted wholly in garrison duty 
at Sacketts Harbor and Oswego, and during the last two and one-third 
years, he held the rank of corporal. After his discharge he accepted 
any employment that ofYered, and was engaged in various occupations. 
For a time he was clerk in a variety and grocery store at Carthage, 
which he subsequently bought, and, after conducting it five mouths, sold. 
On the 20th of August, igoo, he began service as assistant storekeeper 
of the St. Regis Paper Company at Deferiet. and was promoted to store- 
keeper in Tanuarv. igoT. Bv steady and careful attention to his duties 
he has won the confidence and respect of his employers, and now enjoys 
the good will of a large circle of acquaintances and friends. He is a 
member of Carthage Lodge No. 15S, Free and Accepted Masons. Car- 
thage Lodge No. 365, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Oriental 
Encampment, of the latter order. He is now chief patriarch and past 



544 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

high priest of tlie encampment, and is among its most popular members. 
He supports the Republican principles of government. 

PERRY DEARDOFF TAYLOR, superintendent of the Hanawa 
Falls Paper Company, at Hanawa, New York, comes of an old Pennsyl- 
vania family, of undoubted English origin. He was born November 
14, 1866, in Franklin, Ohio, a son of Jehu Butler and Ardelia (Loop) 
Taylor. The father was a native of Westchester, Chester county, Penn- 
sylvania, born in 1816, and the mother of Alexandersville, Ohio. Jehu 
E. Taylor passed his earlier years about the rolling mills at Wilming- 
ton, Delaware, and along the canals of his native state. Going to Ohio, 
he was for forty years a toll-gate keeper in that state, being thirty years 
on the Great Miami Pike, and died August 15, 1888. He was a dili- 
gent student of the Bible, and an earnest Christian man. A vigorous 
opponent of human slavery, he naturally allied himself with the Repub- 
lican party upon its formation, but shunned all political honors. He was 
a Methodist in religious faith, and was universally respected where 
known. 

Mr. Taylor was twice married. His first wife, Margaret Pugh, 
was a native of Ohio, of the sturdy and upright Scotch-Irish people who 
settled much of Ohio. She left seven children, of whom the following 
are known: John Brook Taylor, a resident of Franklin, Ohio; James 
Bailey, who died in Iowa ; Margaret Jane, widow of one Crawford, near 
Des Moines, Iowa. For his second wife, Mr. Taylor married Ardelia 
Loop, daughter of John Loop, who was a well digger; his father was 
a Dunkard minister. Her mother was Sarah J. Abbott. Mrs. Taylor 
was the mother of eleven children, of whom brief m.ention follows. 
Sarah J. married William Warwick, of Dayton, Ohio. George Clinton 
resides in Franklin, Ohio. Perry D. is the third. Rachel J. died at the 
age of twenty-three years. Margaret is married, and resides in Spring- 
field, Ohio. Peter M. is a citizen of Rock City, Illinois. Freeman and 
Emma reside in Dayton, Ohio, the latter being married. The ninth and 
tenth were twins, and died before three weeks old. Elizabeth died at 
the age of seven years. 

Perry D. Taylor grew up in Franklin, and attended the public 
schools. When thirteen years old he worked among farmers in summer, 
and when fourteen years old entered a paper mill as back tender. At 
the end of seventeen months he ran the machine, and continued five 
years in that mill. For a short time he was engaged in building railroad 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 545 

bridges. In 1886 he went to Elkhart, Indiana, as machine tender in a 
paper mill, and subsequently spent six months in the same capacity at 
Rialto, Ohio. On February 8, 1888, Mr. Taylor arrived in Watertown, 
this county, having been engaged as tender by the Watertown Paper 
Company, with whom he remained two and one-half years, and next 
spent four and one-half years with the Remington Paper Company, in 
Mill B. In 1895 he took charge of the Watertown Paper Company's 
mill, and so continued one and one-half years, going then to the super- 
intendency of Knowlton Brothers' mill, where he continued from Octo- 
ber I, 1896, to May I. 1900. On June i. of that year, he went to Fulton, 
New York, to act as foreman of the Victoria Paper Mills. Mr. Taylor 
took charge of the Island mill in Carthage. February 15, 1901, and has 
since resided in that village. More recently he became superintendent 
of the Hanawa Falls Paper Company, at Hanawa Falls, New York. 
His knowledge of the art of papermaking comes from a thorough expe- 
rience, and his strict attention to his duties and his kindness and uniform 
courtesy to all have made him popular with employer and subordinates, 
and he is respected as a citizen by his contemporaries. During the last 
six years of his residence in Watertown he was a communicant of the 
Baptist church, and his support both by precept and example goes to 
the maintenance of strict morality and every elevating influence. At 
the first election of President Cleveland, Mr. Taylor was one of his 
supporters; he voted the Prohibition ticket from principle until 1904, 
since which time he has supported the Republican party. He is a mem- 
ber of Watertown Lodge No. 49, F. and A. M., in which he was senior 
master of ceremonies for eighteen months. 

He was married May 24, 1885, to Miss Elizabeth Cecelia Graham, 

a native of Middletown, Ohio, and daughter of and Ann 

(McCauley) Graham. Mrs. Taylor's parents were born, reared and 
married in Ireland. Mr. Taylor's family includes two sons and two 
daughters, namely : Dennis Edward, Bessie May, Roy Thomas, and 
Eve Ardelia. 

HIRAM KENDRICK LANPHEAR, a retired farmer, now resid- 
ing in West Carthage, New York, is a descendant of one of the pioneer 
families of Wilna, in which town he was for many years successfully 
engaged in agriculture and stock-growing. 

Tradition says that his great-grandfather, who bore the name of 
Austin, came from France and settled in the Mohawk Valley. The con- 



546 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

struction of a blast furnace at Carthage in 1818 brought many enter- 
prising men from the older districts to make charcoal. Among these 
was Lewis Lanphear, who was born November 13, 1763, in Herkimer 
county, this state. The furnace proprietors ofifered to pay one-half in 
land and the balance in store pay, which was something of a disap- 
pointment to many. Having come some distance with his equipment, 
Mr. Lanphear resolved to work through one season, hoping to be able 
to sell the land he might acquire. This pmved difficult, however, as 
most of the settlers were poor and glad to pay fur land by making char- 
coal and otherwise disposing of the timber. Having earned a tract of 
land he concluded to add to it. still hoping to sell, hut finally decided to 
bring his family and settle here, which he did almut 1820. He acquired 
one hundred acres of land and proceeded to clear it with the aid of his 
sons. His land was on lot 24, range 10, and he became one of the suc- 
cessful and leading farmers of the town; he died April 22, 1836. 

Lewis Lanphear was married to iMary Williams, a native of Her- 
kimer county, who \\as born November 29. 1767, and died March 31, 
1833, in her sixty-sixth year. They were the parents of eight children. 
Samuel, Ihe first, died when one year okl. Lewis, the second, lived and 
died in W'ilna. Solomcm went tO' Erie county. New York, and died 
there, in W'illiamstown. Austin, born November 29, 1796, died, un- 
married, Februaiy 10, 1873. Hiram, born April 22, 1799. died about 
1868. He ^^■as an industrious and successful business man. He oper- 
ated a tannerv at \\'est Carthage for some time, and was the owner of 
several farms. His wife. Corinna. was a daughter of Sanniel Loomis 
(see Loomis). John, sixth son of Lewis Lanphear, lived most of his 
life in W'ilna, and died in the town of LeRay. The youngest, Polly, 
married Aaron Sanders, and lived and died in Wilna. 

Jeremiah, seventh son of Lewis Lanphear. was born Septemljer 22, 
1803, in Danuht. Herkimer county. New ^'ork. and died September 13. 
1862. in Wilna. He came with his pai'ents to this town and imme- 
diately took up land south of his father's, on the same lot, now owned 
b}- his second son. At that time there was no road passing the land, 
Init one was sulisequenllv laid out across it, where the residence now 
stands. Here Mr. Lanphear lived during his life, and cleared and devel- 
oped a fine farm. In early life he did some business in buying and driving 
stock to market, in which he realized a profit. He served as overseer of 
the poor and assessor. He was a Democrat, later an Abolitionist, and 
was among those who founded the Republican party. He acted with 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 547 

the Sons of Temperance, and lielped organize the Baptist church at 
Champion, later aiding in the formation of a society at Carthage, ui 
which he served as trustee. 

Mr. Lanphear was married to Fanny Fulton, who was born in Cole- 
rain, Massachusetts, a daughter of Caleb and Polly (Barnes) Fulton, of 
tiiat town (see Fulton). Mrs. Lanphear died December i6. 1877. at her 
home in \\'ilna. She was the mother of eight children. Mary Madeline, 
the eldest, born Septemlier 5. 183 1, was married. October 22. 1855, to 
James Thompson, whom she survived, dying at their home in Coronna, 
Michigan. April 12, 1888. Hannah Lucretia, born February 5. 1834 
died two days before completing her sixteenth year. Lydia Euretta, 
born Maixh 27, 1836, was married, October 16, 1856, to John S. Ed- 
wards, and died August 15, 1870, in Carthage. Sketches of Hiram K. 
and Nelson W. follow. Corinna Sedate, born September 26. 1844, died 
in childhood. Helen Lucetta. born May 26, 1847, died at the age of 
eighteen years. Simeon Fulton, born November 19, 1849, is a farmer 
residing in Dundee. Yates county. New York. 

Hn-am Kendrick Lanphear was born August i, 183S, on his father's 
farm in Wilna. where lie grew up and remained until his enlistment in 
the civil war. His education was supplied by the local district school. 
and most of that m the winter season. He was early accustomed to 
labor on the farm, and has passed a most industrious life. He was en- 
rolled in August, 1864, as a member of Company A, One Hundred and 
Eighty-sixth Regiment New York Volunteers, and served nine months, 
until the close of hostilities. This regiment participated in the capture 
of Petersburg, in April, 1863, which was the only severe engagement in 
its service. 

Returnmg to his native town. Mr. Lanphear tilled the paternal farm 
one year. In 1866 he purchased a house on Champion street, in ^^'est 
Carthage, in v.'hich he lived one year. Before the close of that year he 
sold the place and bought a farm of two hundred and seventy-five acres 
on Alexandria road, in Wilna, which he still owns. To the cultivation 
of this farm and the conduct of a large dairy he gave diligent attention 
until 1901, when he removed to West Carthage and rented his farm. He 
purchased a handsome home on Jefferson street, and is now enjoying in 
comfortable retirement the fruits of many years of industry. He is a 
member of E. B. Steele Post, Grand Army of the Republic. In politics 
he has always been a Democrat. He served the town of Wilna twelve 
years as highway commissioner, and has held minor offices. 



648 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Mr. Lanphear was married June 25, 1861, to Miss Achsah Loomis, 
who was born in Champion, August 21, 1844, a daughter of John Wil- 
son and Sarah (Potter) Loomis. John Wilson Loomis was a son of 
John Loomis, who Hved at the head of Pleasant Lake (see Loomis). 
Two children came to Hiram K. Lanphear and wife. Wilson L., the eld- 
est, is a farmer in the town of Champion. Lillian is the wife of Frank 
Wyeth, residing in Lowell, Massachusetts. 

Nelson Webb Lanphear, second son of Jeremiah Lanphear, was 
born June 16, 1841, and grew up on his father's farm in the town of 
Wilna, receiving his education in the district school, which he attended 
during the winter months until twenty years old, and in the meantime 
he bore his share in the labors of the farm. In 1863 he enlisted as a 
soldier in Company A, Twentieth Regiment New York Cavalry, and 
served until the close of the war. Most of this service took place on the 
skirmish line, in eastern Virginia and North Carolina, often being within 
hearing of the church bells of Richmond. In this line of duty Mr. Lan- 
phear contracted malarial disorders, and was sent to hospital, from 
which he was discharged May 20, 1865. 

On his recovery from this illness he took up the cultivation of the 
home farm with his brother, which he continued until 1875, when he 
moved to Rutland, but in 1880 he returned, having purchased the farm. 
He resided there until 1889, when he rented the farm and moved to 
Carthage, chiefly on account of ill health. With ambition greater than 
his strength, he has been an industrious farmer and has accumulated 
something as a result Of his diligence. Of quiet nature and retiring dis- 
position, he enjoys the confidence and respect of a large acquaintance. 
With his family he is connected with the Baptist church of Carthage. 
He is a member of E. B. Steele Post, Grand Army of the Republic, in 
which he has served as adjutant. For many years he has been actively 
connected with the work of the Patrons of Husbandry, being a member 
of Carthage Grange, and of this body he has acted as treasurer for five 
years, as overseer and master, and was one of the fire directors a num- 
ber of years. In public affairs he acts with the Republicans. 

Mr. Lanphear was married November 12, 1870, to Miss Sarah M. 
Smith, who was born June i, 1848, in the town of Denmark, Lewis 
county. She is a daughter of Abram and Samantha (Loomis) Smith. 
Abram Smith was born August 14, 1812, in Denmark. His parents 
were Oliver Smith (born December 19, 1776, and died April 5, 1826) 
and Nancy Vrooman (born August 16, 1792, and died April, 1873). 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 5-ii) 

Kis father dying lielure he was fourteen years did. Ahram Smith was 
early taught tu rely upon himself, and hecame a farmer in Denmark. In 
1851 he joined the tide of California gold-seekers, anil was killed m 
California, January 4. 1854. by a landslide. He was a member of the 
Sons of Temperanee and the Independent Order uf Odd l-ellows. Sa- 
mantha Loomis was born March 14, 1814. and died in Carthage, July 
18, 1898. She passed most of her life after the death nf her hu.sliand, 
in Carthage, where she had a pleasa.nt home at the upper end <:)f State 
street. This is now the residence ot Nelson W. Lanphear and family. 
Mrs. Smith was a daughter of Samuel Loomis (see Loomis). She had 
two daughters. The eldest. Cledestine A., born July 23. T843. '^i*^*' ""' 
1857. 

Three children came to Nelson \V. Lanphear and wife: i. Burton 
S., born September 13, 1871, who graduated from Cornell L'niversity in 
1904, and became professor of electrical engineering in the Iowa State 
College at Ames, Iowa: on September 16, 1899, he married Miss Emma 
Park, of Washington Court House, Ohio, and they are the parents of one 
child. Park, born May jo, 1901. Burton S. Lanphear died October 14, 
1904. 2. Fanny S., horn April 12, 1875, became the wife of George A. 
DeaHng, a produce dealer of Carthage, March 28", 1899, and resides in 
that village. 3. Frederick W., born June 21, 1880. He entered the 
Iowa State College as a student in 1901, and is now the electrician of that 
institution. 

George A. Dealing is a great-grandson of Samuel and Betsey Deal- 
ing, who are supposed to have come from Connecticut, and descended 
from English ancestors. In 1834 they settled in the town of Ellisburg, 
this county, later moved to Henderson, and from there to Lorraine, 
where the former died about 1847, and the latter tw'O years later. Sam- 
uel Ackley, son of Samuel and Betsey Dealing, was born in 1800, and 
died in the town of China, Wyoming county, New York, about 1868. 
His first wdfe, Anna Christina Baker, of German descent, died in 1831. 
She was the mother of two children. The elder, William George, was 
born March 15, 1829, and now resides in West Carthage. He was 
reared by his grandparents, with whom he remained until eighteen years 
old. He served two years and ten months as a member of Company M, 
Fifth New York Heavy Artillery, in Virginia and Maryland, during 
the civil war, attaining the rank of sergeant. He was married March 
15, 1854, to Roxy Mclntyre, and George A. Dealing is their fifth and 
youngest child. The second child of Samuel Ackley and Anna Christina 
(Baker) Dealing, Anna C, died unmarried. 



650 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

GEORGE H. COBB, district attorney of Jefferson county, New 
^"ork, is a widely known and popular official. Genial by nature, affable 
and courteous of manner, he is of the sort that gains and retains friend- 
ships. English, Scotch and Dutch strains united in the ancestry of Mr. 
Cobb, but he himself is only American, and knows no distinctions on 
account of blood or nativity. 

His great-grandfather, John Cobb, was a native of England, and 
came to America when a mere boy, settling in New England. In the 
busy life of the original manufacturing center of the United States, he 
made for himself a place and a competence. Joseph Cobb, son of John, 
was born Ji-ine 8, 1800, in Onondaga county, New York, and was a 
pioneer settler of Jefferson county, locating m the town of Alexandria 
before 1837. In the "Patriot War" of 1837-40 he took a conspicuous 
part. He became a large landholder of the town, and at one time owned 
nearly all of Well's Island, whose value for summer resort purposes was 
not then foreseen, and he subsec|uently disposed of his holdings and 
removed to the town of Hounstield, about 1842-43. There he engaged 
successfully in farming, and died December 25, 1887. He was a Pres- 
byterian in religious belief, and among the original supporters of the 
Republican pany. Pie was married June 5, 182 1. to Margaret Soule, 
and had a family of ten children, namely: Mary, Eli. Perry, John, 
Elijali. Philena, Carscndana. Julia, Elsie and Orlando. The mother of 
these sur\-ived the father over nine years, and passed away January 17, 
1897. 

Elijah, fourth child and fifth son of Joseph and Margaret (Soule) 
Cobb, was born July 22, 1833, in the town of Alexandria, and was ten 
years old when he went with his parents to Hounsfield. He was trained 
in the rudiments of knowledge at the district schools of the time, and his 
active life has been devoted to agriculture. Successful as a farmer, he 
is now living in letirement from hard labor upon his land near Sackets 
Harbor. He has always been an earnest supporter of Republican prin- 
ciples, and exercises some inlluence m the local councils of his part}'. He 
is one of those who volunteered to support the Union when its integrity 
was assailed by those who held to state rights and secession. In 1864 
he was enrolled as a member of Company B, One Hundred and Eighty- 
sixth Regiment New York Volunteers, with which he served until dis- 
charged. June 2. 18&5, after the end of the war. He received a wound 
before Petersburg, April 2. 1865. when his regiment led the assault on 
tlic Confederate works. Returning to Hounsfield, he took nj) cix'il life 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 553 

where he left it, and is among the respected citizens of the town. He 
affihates with Joseph K. Barnes Post No. 360, G. A. R.. at Sackets 
Harbor. 

He was married, November 13, 1858, to Emily M. Frink, daughter 
of William C. and Maria (Moore) Crandall, of Hounsfield, and widow 
of Perrin H. Frink. Mr. and Mrs. Cobb are the parents of four sons. 
The eldest, Herbert C, married Olia Putnam, of Adams, and now re- 
sides in Doland, South Dakota. She is the mother of one son, Ray Put- 
nam. George H. is the subject of following paragraphs. Eugene F. 
married Sadie Walsworth, of Adams Center, and has a daughter, Flor- 
ence E. : he resides in Doland, South Dakota. Edward E. is a farmer 
and resides upon the old homestead near Sackets Harbor. Emily M. 
(Crandall) Cobb's parents were natives of Brookfield, Madison county. 
New York, and were the parents of three children, namely : Delos M., 
Henry C. and Emily M. The last-named has a son by her first mar- 
riage, namely: Franklin P. Frink. He married Minnie E. Waterbury, 
and has two children, Perrin H. and Clara Emily. The latter is now 
the wife of Sherman Grant, of Hammond, New York. 

George Henry Cobb, son of Elijah and Emily (Crandall) Cobb, 
was born October 10, 1864, on his father's farm in Hounsfield, and 
received his elementary education in the public schools of the cOunty. 
He was graduated from the state normal school at Potsdam in 1886, 
and engaged in teaching for a short time. With the practice of the 
legal profession as his objective goal, he early began to read law, and 
entered the office of Lansing & Rogers, of Watertown, to perfect him- 
self in theory and practical application. He was admitted to the bar 
in 1 89 1, and very soon came into favoraI>le public notice through his 
energA'. thorough preparation and pleasant personality. His ability 
and knowledge of the law were soon demonstrated, and his popularity 
has increased with the lapse of time. With an instinct for leadership, 
he quickly took prominent position in the social and political life of the 
city, and was soon appointed deputy county clerk. He left this position 
to assume the duties of city recorder, to which he was elected in 1894, 
serving four vears, and retiring from the position when it was merged 
in the office of city judge. In 1898 he was elected to his present posi- 
tion, and is now serving his second term by re-election, the term expir- 
ing January i, 1905. During this time several important criminal cases 
have been directed and tried Ijy him. (le\-e1oping his great strength as 
an attorney. In igoo he was elected >tate senator liy a large majority. 



554 GENEALOGICAL AXD FAMILY HISTORY. 

Outside of his official duties, lie enjoys a handsiime private practice, 
and is likely to be heard from further, in lx)th legal and political 
circles. Air. Cobb is a member of the Presbyterian church of Water- 
town, and a charter member juid one of the organizers of the Lincoln 
League, a strong Republican organization with membership throughout 
northern New York. He holds high place in Free Masonry, having 
attained the thirty-second degree, and being efficiently active in the 
various suterdinate bodies of the order. 

He was married April 19, 1893, to Louisa Wenzel, a daughter of 
Fred and Kunigunda Wenzel, of Watertown, and of German extrac- 
tion. Mrs. Cobb was born January 26, 1865, in Watertown, and is 
the mother of a son, George Donald Cobb, born March 18, 1899. 

REV. ROYAL HOUGHTON, for many years a member of the 
Black River Conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, was a scion 
of one of the old New England families. 

t. John and Ralph Houghton, brothers, came from England in 
1650. and settled at Bolton, Massachusetts. Ralph was born in 1620. 
James (2) son of Ralph, was born in 1661, and died in 171 1. Edward 
(3) son of James, born 1703. 4. Edward, son of Edward, born 1740. 
5. John, son of Edward Houghton, was born and lived at Brattleboro, 
Vermont, where he died at the age of one hundred and two years. He 
v.as married three tunes. He served seven years as a soldier in the revo- 
lutionary war. 

C). John, son of John Houghton and his third wife, was born De- 
ctmber 11, 1774, in Brattleboro. and died in 1850, at New Lisbon, New 
Yoik. He was married at Balston, New York, to Elizabeth Jackson, 
who \\as a native of that place, of Quaker parentage. He was a skilled 
millwright and carpenter, and did much building on a large scale in cen- 
tral Nev; York. Among his works was the construction of the academy 
at De Ruyter. He had five sons — Royal, Hiram, Jehiel, Harvey and 
J,"'hn. Hiram settled in the northern peninsula of Michigan, where a 
town and county are named for him. 

7. Royal Houghton was born March 7, 1802, in New Lisbon, 
Otsego county, this state, and attended school at Cherry Valley and other 
points where his father was employed in building operations. He was 
earlv converted, and began to exhort before he was twenty years of age. 
He was licensed by the Methodist Episcopal church as an exhorter and 
to hold meetings. May 25, 1826; was made a deacon July 15. 1832. and 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY. HISTORY. 555 

an elder September 7, 1S35, thus early proving his zeal and piety. He 
joined the Oneida Conference in 1836, and was a charter member of the 
Black River Conference and continued therewith until the Central Con- 
feience was formed, after which he was a member in that until his death. 
He was first stationed on the Bainbridge circuit, and next on the Fabius 
circuit. After being stationed, successively, at Manlius, Weedsport and 
Turin, he went on the Russian circuit, and was successively located at 
Trenton, Van Buren (now Warners) Red Creek, Jordan, Butler, Lysan- 
df,r, Turin, Belleville, Pulaski, Depauville, Rome, Carthage, Euclid, 
Montezuma, Rose, Scriba, Springfield and Sterling. This list denotes a 
busy life, and he was always regarded as one of the most useful and 
earnest members of the conference. After failing health compelled the 
abandonment of preaching he lived some years at Syracuse, where he died 
April 21, 1881, at the age of seventy-nine years, and his body was in- 
terred at Carthage. In their day he joined the Sons of Temperance, and 
was ever ready to further any movement calculated to encourage morality 
and right living. He was a stanch patriot, adhering to the W'hig and 
Republican parties. 

His first wife, Polly Blackman, bore him two sons and two daugh- 
ters. Louisa, the eldest, is the widow of James Leray de Chaumont 
Stearns, and resides in San Francisco, California. Warren was a very 
versatile man, highly educated, a linguist, graduated physician and den- 
tal surgeon. In his younger days he was a tanner and currier by trade. 
He was a thirty-second degree Mason, and died in Glasgow, Missouri. 
Mary Lucretia is the wife of Thomas B. Jamison, of Canisteo, New 
York. John A\'esley v^•as a skilled leather worker, and died in Norwich, 
New York. 

About 1833-4 Mr. Houghton was married to Maria Morse, of Nor- 
wich. New York, who died leaving a daughter, Lucy Maria- She died 
at Friendship, this state, while the wife of Warren Kellogg. 

Mr. Houghton was married in 1836 to Cecilia Beverly (Stearns), 
widow of Walter Horr, of Carthage. She died May 13, igoo, in Syra- 
cuse. She bore five children to Mr. Houghton. Ross Clark, the eldest, 
is a noted divine, author and traveler, residing in Boston. He was for 
many years a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church, but was in- 
stalled pastor of a Congregational church in Boston in 1894. He is a 
Doctor of Divinity, Doctor of Literature and Doctor of Philosophy. 
He is now retired and engaged in educational and literar\- work. ]Men- 
tion of Hiram, the second, appears later. Oscar, the third, is also a 



556 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

clergyman and writer of considerable note, Doctor of Divinity and Doc- 
tor of Philosophy, and is attached to the Central New York Conference 
of the Methodist Episcopal church. The fourth died in infancy, and the 
fifth, William Fletcher, died at the age of sixteen years and was buried 
in Carthage, as were both his parents. 

Hiram Houghton was born April 19, 1839, in Middleville, Herki- 
mer county, New York, and was educated at Belleville Academy and 
Hudson River Institute at Claverack, New York. He engaged in teach- 
ing, and enlisted as a soldier in April, 1861, being the first to enroll his 
name at Carthage. He became a member of the Seventh Regiment New 
York Cavalry, and was made a non-commissioned staff officer in the 
commissary department. After serving six months he became seriously 
ill, and was discharged on account of disability. Returning to Carthage 
he found employment in a grocery store, and later opened the first exclu- 
sive shoe store in that village. For some years he was associated with 
Ashley Loomis in the operation of a tannery, and later sold his interest. 
For four years he was a clerk in the private bank of Horr & Holcomb, 
and was afterward employed in the same capacity in the First National 
Bank. He next purchased two hundred acres of land below the village 
and opened a brick yard, which he operated in connection with farming 
for six years. Since then he has been practically retired from business. 
He was master of Carthage Masonic Lodge in 1888, and high priest of 
the local chapter in 1897-98-99-1900. He is a member of E. B. Steele 
Post, Grand Army of the Republic, and the local lodge of the Order of 
United American Mechanics. Since 1865 he has been a member of Car- 
thage Methodist Episcopal church. For many years he was affiliated 
with the Republican party, but now acts with the Prohibitionists, and 
has been their candidate for supervisor of the town of Wilna. 

He was married, May 28. 1862, to Helen Maria Collins, daughter of 
ALel P. and Maria (Macomber) Collins, of Evans Mills, now deceased. 
Mrs. Houghton is the only child of her parents, and was born May 21, 
1837, at Walterborough, Carlton District, South Carolina. Five chil- 
dren came to Mr. and Mrs. Houghton, namely : Collins, who married 
Clara Kring; he is now operator of the farm and brick yard; Grace, Lil- 
lian. Royal, at home, and Gary, who married Minnie Wisner. 

Abel P. Collins was a native of Jefferson county, and became 
wealthy in merchandising, largely in the south. He was a very kind- 
hearted man, punctilious in dress, and always wore a beaver hat. He 
was a member of the Baptist church at Evans Mills, and sang in its choir. 



GENEALOGICAL AXD FAMILY HISTORY. 657 

He was married at E\ans Mills to Maria Macomber, who was born in 
Denmark, New York. February 22, 1815, died Februarjr i, 1886. in 
Carthage, daughter of Judge John, who was born in Middletown, Ply- 
mouth county. Massachusetts. March 14, 1789, died in Watertown, New 
York, January 4, 1863, buried at Evans Mills, and Olive (Miller) Ma- 
comber, who was born at Chester, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, De- 
cember 16, 1789, died at Watertown, New York, December 8, 1863, 
buried at Evans Mills. Mr. Macomber was one of the early settlers of 
Evans Mills, Avas judge of the county court, and the house which he 
built is now standing in that town. The only child of Mr. Collins who 
grew up is Elelen Maria, now Mrs. Hiram Houghton, of Carthage, New 
York. 

DEMPSTER ROCKWOOD, an intelligent and progressive 
farmer of Champion, is a native of the town, and grandson of one of its 
pioneer settlers. His grandfather, William Rockwood, was a native of 
New England, the son of Reuben Rockwood and his first wife, who died 
when William was only three weeks old. On attaining his majority, the 
last-named came to Champion to settle (the year being 1799), and was 
followed in the ensuing year by Reuben and three younger sons — David, 
Roswell and Asa. All came here from Remsen, New York. On the 
organization of the town, in 1800, Reuben Rockwood was made one of 
the two overseers of the poor, an office which must have been a sinecure, 
or else, burdensome. But few had ventured to settle here to live prior 
to 1799, and all were about on a level, as far as worldly possessions were 
concerned, with much to gain and little to lose. William Rockwood 
secured one hundred and fifty acres where Dempster Rockwood now 
lives, which he cleared, and was a successful farmer. Here he died Feb- 
ruary 4, 1864, aged eighty-eight years and six months. In early life he 
wf.s a Whig, and joined the Republican party upon its organization. A 
reading and thinking man, he de.served and received the respect and good 
will of his contemporaries. Soon after settling in Champion he married 
Polly Cutler, who bore him four sons and four daughters. She and her 
daughters w-ere members of the Methodist church. Priscilla, the first 
child, married David Raulston, and died in Russell, St. Lawrence county, 
this state. Sally, w ife of George R. Sayre, died in Champion. Philotha 
married ^^'arner Van Allen, formerly lived in Alexandria, and died in 
this town. Charles G. is further mentioned below. William w'ent to 
Kansas, served as a soldier from that state, and died as a result of ex- 



558 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

posure ill tlial service. Reuben went to Michigan, and died in that state. 
Sabrina married ^Varren D. Johnson, hved in Jefferson and Lewis 
counties, and died at Beaver Falls. John \\'. is now living at Omro. 
-Wisconsin. 

Charles Giles Rockwood was born March i6, 1816, on the farm 
where his son resides, nearly a half mile east of Champion "Huddle.'' 
He knew no other h(/me, and here he passed away January i, 1894. He 
aided his father in the cultivation of the farm and succeeded to its 
ownershiii. Abvavs industrious, he continued to labor until one month 
before his death. His health was good, with the exception that he was 
somewhat troubled by rheumatism. He was a Whig and Republican, 
and accepted the religious faith of the Methodist church. During the 
civil war he was a commissioned officer of Company A, Twentieth 
Regiment New York Cavalry, and was in active service for a i^eriod of 
two vears. He married (first) Mary Submit Rounds, who died April 
26. 1844. They lost two children, one being a daughter fourteen years 
old. In June, 1846, Mr. Rockwood married Gitty Jan Van Dusen, a 
native of Montgomery county. New York, daughter of Martin and Ma- 
ria (Van Alstine) Van Dusen, died October 18. 1897. Two sons came 
to the second marriage, namely, Fernando Lansing, now a carpen- 
ter residing in West Carthage, and Dempster. The elder was born 
June 3, 1847. 

Dempster Rockwood was born November 6, 1848, in the house in 
which he now lives and which has always sheltered him. He attended 
the local district school in early boyhood, and subsequently was a stu- 
dent of the Watertown high school. In the intervals of vacation he con- 
tiiHied his devotion to the duties of the farm, which became his upon 
the death of his father. They were very congenial, and the son continued 
in filial direction of the father, their work being carried (in together 
through long vears of intimate association. A large dairy is conducted 
by Mr. Rockwood, keeping thirty cows of part Holstein grade. For the 
past eleven years Mr. Rockwood has been a member of Carthage Grange, 
and has been its lecturer ten years. He is recognized as one of the 
progressive thinking men of the day, and has the welfare of humanity 
close to his heart. Not 111 any sense a politician, he holds settled con- 
victions of political ccononiy, and supports the Republican candidates 
arjl ])rinciples. He is liberal in religious thought and is ever ready to 
further aiiv plan, for the reform of existing evils. 

Mr. Rockwood was married Septemlier J<). 1881. to .\nastasia 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 559 

Wise, who was born September 29, i860, in Branford, Connecticut, and 
reared in Watertown, this state. One son, Wesley Wise, was born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Rockwood December 8, 1883, and is now at home. A his- 
tory of the W^ise family is a feature of this work. Mrs. Rockwood is a 
cultured and lo\aI)le woman, and a fit helpmeet for her husband, and 
both are held in high regard. 

FREDERICK HUBBARD McNITT, a representative of one of 
the oldest famines of the town of Champion, resides in the southern 
part of that town, not far from the village of Copenhagen, Lewis county. 
He comes of sturdy Scotch and English colonial ancestry, and is a 
worthy scion of worthy families. 

1. Barnard McNitt, a native of Scotland, born in 1700, settled in 
Salem, Massachusetts, in 1752, and died there January 16, 1773, in 
his seventy-third year. His wife Jean survived him many years, dying in 
her ninety-second year. 

2. John !McNitt. son of Barnard, was born April 25, 1749, 
in Scotland, and was brought up in Salem, Massachusetts, 
where he became a farmer. He served in the revolutionary war 
and was in the battle of Bunker Hill. His brother Andrew was in 
the same battle and was never found after it was over. 
After spending a short time in Washington county. New York, 
John McNitt came to Champion in 1803, and took up one hundred and 
fifty acres of land, in company with his son James. He died April 13. 
1835. His wife, Patty Wilson, was born July 9, 1758, and died Feb- 
ruary 17, 1848. in her ninetieth year. They were among the founders of 
the Presljyterian church at Champion village, and were Godfearing peo- 
ple. Four of their sons and three daughters reached the age of sixteen 
years or o\-er. Salh-, the eklest, married Dorastus Waite, and lived and 
died in Cliampion. James, at middle age, went to Eden, Erie county, 
this state, where he died at the age of ninety-five years. John Wilson died 
in Somerset, Niagara county. New York, in the settlement of which town 
he acted as agent for the owners. Polly became the wife of Oliver 
Wright, of Clayton, in which town she died. Patty married Alvin 
Wright, and they were pioneers in Cuyahoga count)^ Ohio, where they 
died. Noah, the sixth, is the subject of a paragraph below. Oren died 
at the age of sixteen. 

3. Noah McNitt was T)orn Jime 6, 1794, in Salem, Massachusetts, 
and had nearlv comiileted his ninth vear when the fann'lv came to Cham- 



660 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

\mm. His meager education was supplied by the rude pioneer schools of 
the town, and he was early wont to aid in the tasks incident to clearing 
and cultivating a farm of the heavy timber. He was one of the minute- 
men at Sackett's Harbor. Farming was always his occupation, and his 
first farm of his own consisted of one hundred and twelve acres on 
"Stone Wall street." This he continued to till until a short time before 
his death. In 1864 he acquired three hundred and eleven acres where 
his son, Frederick H., now lives, to ownership of which the latter soon 
succeeded. Noah McNitt died March 26, 1866, about seventy-two years 
old. Though he had little schooling he was an intelligent observer of 
men and events, was well-read, and took an active part in promoting the 
progress of his to\\n. With his wife he maintained membership in the 
Presbyterian church, and heVas an active member of the Sons of Tem- 
perance. In politics, he continued a Democrat until 1856, and was a 
member of the convention that organized the Republican party in Jeffer- 
son county in that year. He served the town as assessor and in other 
capacities. Mr. McNitt was married, March 26, 1819, to Laura Hub- 
bard, a daughter of Joel Hubbard, one of the pioneers of Champion (see 
Joel Hubbard). She was born in Steuben, Oneida county, May 6, 1799, 
and died at the home of her son, Frederick H., in 1871, aged seventy- 
two years, Eliza Ambrosia, their first child, died at the age of seven 
years, Gustavus A. was a wagonmaker and died at Chaumont, this 
county, aged twenty-five years. Egbert lived in Champion and the west, 
and died in his native town at the home of Frederick H. McNitt, Jan- 
uary 10, 1898. Ambrosia married Guilford Harris, and lives in Low- 
ville. Julia Eliza, wife of Albert O. Babcock, died in West Carthage. 
Frederick H. is the sixth. Sarah married Curtis Ingraham, and died in 
Carthage. Frances I. resides in West Carthage, unmarried. 

4. Frederick H. McNitt was born October 19, 1830, on his father's 
farm on "Stone Wall street," where he grew to manhood. The instruc- 
tion which he received in the district school was supplemented by three 
terms at Bush's famous academy, then located in Champion village, Mr, 
Bush later going to Carthage. Mr. McNitt's present wife was a student 
at the same time in that institution. He continued to assist his father in 
the cultivation of the farm and became joint owner with his brother 
Egbert upon the father's demise. They added to the acreage by the pur- 
chase of sixty-five acres near by in the town of Denmark, and built and 
operated a cheese factory f^r thirty-one years. They erected a barn thirty- 
by ninety feet in ground dimension, and added other capacious farm 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 561 

buildings, and maintained at one time a dairy of sixty cows, Holsteins 
and Dnrhams. The farm has been noted many yeara as the home of 
the liorse, "Rockford," of mixed Hambletonian and Morgan l)lood, 
whose colts have proved speedy on contested race courses, and generally 
valuable stock. For many years this farm has been a breeding place of 
Berkshire swine, and was formerly devoted largely to thoroughbred 
Shorthorn cattle. At the death of his brotlier. in 1898, Mr. Frederick H. 
McNitt became the sole owner, and has since been proprietor of one of 
the most productive farms in the county. In 1903 fifteen hundred bush- 
els of grain were grown, and ninety-two tons of hay and straw were 
sold, while forty head of cattle were wintered. 

JMr. McNitt is a life member of the Jefferson County Agricultural 
Society, and was its president in 1884-5-6. He has held most of the 
offices in the town, being supervisor in 1869 and 1870, and twelve years 
from 1879 to 1891 ; was eighteen years assessor, and has served as col- 
lector and constable. 

Mr. McNitt was married, February 4, 1857, ^o Miss Phoebe C. 
Ingraham, who was born May 22, 1835, in Champion, a daughter of 
Simeon and Maria (Earl) Ingraham, the former a native of Massachu- 
setts and the latter of the town of Rutland, this county. Simeon was a 
son of George Ingraham, Jr., and his wife Sally, and George was a 
son of George, Sr. Two daughters, Ellen A. and Laura, complete the 
immediate family of Mr. McNitt, but he feels much interest in his eight 
grandchildren. The elder daughter, born August 28, i860, is the wife 
of Edwin Sage, of Champion, who is a farmer on an adjoining farm 
and is a cattle dealer on commission for George Smith ; their children 
are: i. Estella, born March i, 1881, who is a school teacher in Cham- 
pion; 2. Fred McNitt, December 10, 1882; 3. Gertrude, October 9, 
1884, who is a teacher in the town and district. 4. Elizabeth, deceased. 
5. Ellen, born August 30, 1891. 6. Leda, October 8, 1895. 7- Charles, 
January 20, 1902. Laura McNitt, born September 30, 1867, became the 
wite of Watson Carpenter, of Gouverneur, who is a commercial traveler 
for H. H. Nobles, of that city: they have two daughters — Bertha, born 
November 4, 1891, and Gladys, June 27. 1899. 

MICHAEL MARTIN, a prosperous farmer of the town of \\' ilna, 
has lived all his life on the farm where he now resides, some three miles 
from the village of Carthage. His father, John Martin, was born in 
Dublin, Ireland, and came to America in 1818. He settled in Jefferson 



562 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

county, and was employed as a farm laborer for some years. In tlie 
meantime he jjurchased fifty acres of land on credit, and as soon as it was 
paid for out of his earnings he settled upon it and lived there the re- 
mainder of his days. To this he subsequently added twenty-five acres, 
and this has been increased by his son until the latter, with his sons, 
owns and tills three hundred acres. John Martin was an industrious 
farmer, respected wherever knowai, and was one of the faithful mem- 
bers of St. James's Roman. Catholic church of Carthage. Like most 
of his compatriots he supported Democratic policies and candidates. 
Within a few years after his arrival here he was married to Ellen Con- 
nelly, who was born in the same place as himself, was early left an 
orphan, and came to this countiT in 1821 with the family of John ]\Iur- 
ray, an early resident of Wilna. Mr. and Mrs. INIartin were the parents 
of seven children. The eldest, Thomas, is now a resident of Carthage. 
Ann, the second, lives in the same village, being the wife of James Far- 
mer. James died in Antwerp, at the age of sixty-four years. Michael is 
the fourth. Margaret is the widow of John McGowan, residing in Car- 
thage. Rose Ann died in 1901, unmarried. Ellen married Thomas 
Burns, and resides in the town of Cr<;>ghan, near the home place, which 
adjoins the town line. John Martin died at the age of ninety-two years, 
and his widow survi\ed him three years, dying at the age of eighty-eight 
years. 

Michael Martin was liorn ^lay 16. 1832, on his present farm, antl 
attended the district school of the neighborhood, continuing during the 
winter terms until he was twenty years old. In the meantime he aided 
in the labors of the farm in the summer from an early age, and agricul- 
ture has been his lifework. He cared for his parents in their old age, 
and succeeded to the ownership of the farm upon their death. By pa- 
tient industry and prudence in the management of his resources he has 
been able to add to his domain, and now has one of the most valuable 
farms of the town. His sons are also industrious, and the famil\- is one 
of the most respectef! in the \-icinity. They are intelligent and in har- 
mony with the progress of e\ents. so that thrift characterizes all that per- 
tains to the home and farm. A dairy of sixteen cows forms part of the 
farm etiuipment and adds to the income. Mr. Martin is a member of 
Carthage Grange, and a liberal supporter of St. James's church, with 
which all his family arc identified. He is an independent Democrat, and 
has served as school trustee of his district. 

He was married. April 17, 1865, to Ann Burns, who was born in 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 563 

Wilna, a daughter of Palrick and Ann (Clark) Bums, natives of county 
Meath, Ireland. Mrs. Martin died Xi>veniber 2j. 1894, at the age of 
sixty-five years. She was the mother of eight children, most of whom 
are now living. The first, John Henry, resides with his father. ]\Iary, 
the second, died in IMarch, i8q6, while the wife of George Burns, of 
Watertown. Francis Patrick is engineer at the Island Paper Mill in 
Carthage. William Vincent is at home. James Joseph is a bricklayer 
by trade, and is now employed in the St. Regis paper mill at Deferiet. 
Helen married Charles Hofer, and resides in Carthage. Rosa died at 
home, of diphtheria, April 7, 1897. George died August 24. 1901, of 
appendicitis. 

JOHN GUY HARBOTTLE, who died May 10, 1891, at his 
home in Watertown, spent all his active business life in that town, 
where he was a prominent merchant and worthy citizen. He carried 
the standards of private life into his business affairs, and was known 
for his unimpeachable honesty. A stanch friend and earnest supporter 
of any cause that appealed to him as just, he was reckoned among the 
most upright and progressive citizens of the community. 

In the county of Northumberland, England, is a town named Har- 
bottle, and near this place was born, March 9, 1779, John Harbottle. 
In 1800, at the age of twenty-one years, he left his native land and 
settled at Poughkeepsie, New York, where he was married. May 10, 
1806, to Sophia Vassar, who was born December 11, 1784, in the 
county of Norfolk, England, a daughter of James and Annie Vassar, 
who came to America in 1796. Their son, Matthew Vassar, was the 
founder of Vassar College, the most prominent woman's college on the 
western continent. The Vassar family is of French descent, their ances- 
tors having migrated to England early in the eighteenth century. 

When he sailed from Gateshead, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne, March 
25, 1800, John Harbottle received from his maternal grandfather, Chris- 
topher Herron, a pocketbook, suitably inscribed, which is still preserved 
by his descendants in Watertown. He engaged in the manufacture of 
woolen cloth, and is said to have been the first in this state to install 
and use machinery for carding wool. He learned the potter's trade in 
youth, but turned his attention to cloth-making, after coming to this 
country, and was successively located in that industry at Oriskany, 
Trenton, Chittenango and Mottville, and settled in Watertown in 1833. 



564 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Here he died in 1843, his wife surviving him until 1861. They were 
the parents of eleven children. 

John G. Harbottle, sixth son and eighth child of John and Sophia 
(Vassar) Harbottle, was born June 4, 18 19, in Trenton, New York, 
and was fourteen years of age when he came, with his parents, to 
Watertown. He soon went to Poughkeepsie, where he attended school, 
and learned the tinsmith's trade. Returning to Watertown in 1836, he 
was thirteen years foreman in the shops of Norris M. Woodruff & Son, 
which sufficiently testifies to his ability and integrity. He engaged in 
business for himself in 185 1, and was located in a short time in the 
store which he purchased in 1852, at the east end of the public square, 
where his grandsons are still carrying on the business founded by him. 
This is a double brick store, and he astonished his friends by paying 
one thousand dollars down on the purchase. Tlie industry and thrift 
which made this possible were continued through his life, and the block 
was soon paid for in full. The business is now conducted by an incor- 
porated company bearing the name of its founder, and is in a flourish- 
ing condition. Mr. Harbottle dealt in hardware and also did a large 
business in expert tinning. He was master of all details of this work, 
and was possessed of a high order of executive ability, so that his busi- 
ness always prospered. It is now limited to the installation of heating 
plants, and general expert jobbing, and is the leading establishment of 
its kind in northern New York. 

Mr. Harbottle united with tlie Baptist church when nineteen years 
old, and was always tliereafter an earnest worker in its interest, and 
was many years a deacon of the Watertown society. He served as 
trustee, treasurer and clerk, and was thirty years chorister. He was 
a member of the American Bible Union, the American Baptist Mis- 
sionary Union, a life member of the American Baptist Home Missionary 
Society, and represented his church in the state conventions. In political 
principle he was a stanch Republican, but desired no political favors for 
himself. A consistent Christian and an upright man, Mr. Harbottle 
enjoyed the confidence, respect and esteem of all who were privileged 
to know him. 

He was married about 1841 to Victorine R., daughter of Lathrop 
Huntington, of Watertown. She died in 1843, leaving a son, George 
Vassar, who died at the age of fourteen years. Mr. Harbottle married, 
on May 28, 1848, Miss Marcia Cryden Wise, daughter of John and 
Sophronia (Smith) Wise. Mrs. Harbottle still survives her husband. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 565 

She was born March ii. 1827, at Milford. Otsego county, this state. 
Her father, John Cryden Wise, was born at Milford, and was a son of 
Deacon Cryden Wise and his wife, Lucy Nash, the latter a descendant 
of an old New England family. Deacon Cryden Wise was a native of 
Ballston-Spa, and was a farmer all his adult life at Milford. Only three 
of the eleven children of John G. and Marcia C. Harbottle sur\'ived the 
period of chddhood. The youngest son, Frank B., died in 1897, aged 
al'KDUt forty years. John C. and Edward G. are residents of W'atertown. 

JOHN WHALING, one of the selfmade men of Carthage, demon- 
strates in his career the possibilities of this great country in general, and 
of Jefferson county in particular. His parents, John and Ann (Don- 
nelly) Whaling, were born in the counties of Kings and Queens, Ireland, 
respect ivel)', and were married in their native land. They were reared 
on farms, and when the husband set out for America in 1848, it was with 
the hope of owning a farm some day. After a voyage of seven weeks 
he arrived at the port of New York, whence he set out on foot, accom- 
panied by a fellow voyager, to go to Canada. While walking along a 
path in Sterlingville, in the town of Philadelphia, he encountered a boy- 
hood friend who had previously settled there. The latter recognized Mr. 
Whaling and purposely got in his way, thus attracting attention to him- 
self, and a joyful meeting was the result. By the advice of his friend 
Mr. Whaling decided to go no farther, and soon found work in the em- 
ploy of James Sterling, about the furnace at Sterlingville. In 1853 he 
took up thirty acres of land in the town of Wilna, near Sterlingville, 
and subsequently added four acres to his domain. Here he lived the 
remainder of his years, and led a most industrious life. During the 
greater part of the time he worked for others, taking care of his own 
work in the evenings and at odd times. 

When Mr. Whaling had been in this country two years he had accu- 
mulated sufficient money to send for his wife and only living child. Five 
children had previously died in Ireland, and four were born in this coun- 
try. The eldest, Michael, is now a practicing attorney at Los Angeles, 
California. John is the second. Mary is the wife of James Hogan, re- 
siding in Sterlingville. Catherine died, unmarried, in Wilna. Eliza 
lives on the homestead, being the wife of Ambrose Flick. Mr. Whaling 
was a Democrat in his political affiliations, and he and his family were 
communicants of St. Mary's Roman Catholic church of Sterlitigville. 
His death occurred m April, 1880, aged over sixty years. 



56(3 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

jiilin Whaling, son vi Jchn and Ann (Donnelly) Whaling, was 
wont U) make himself useful about the small farm which constituted his 
home from the time he was a small boy, and had little education before 
attaining man's estate. As a boy he did not appreciate the need of educa- 
tion, and preferred boyish diversions and even hard work. to-*going to 
school. At about the age of sixteen years he went to work for Peter 
Wichard, of Le Ray, during the summer months, and remained with 
him doing chores for his board, and attending school during the winter 
months. The following summer he worked for Joseph Schhoofty, in 
Philadelphia, and that winter (1868-69) he came to Carthage and 
clerked m a store. The following spring he went to work for George Pe- 
trie, with whom he remained seven years. In the meantime he had l:)e- 
come convinced that learning is an aid to one in any calling, and is a 
necessity if one would rise in the social scale. During the first three 
yeais of his residence with George Petrie he attended school during the 
winter: the two following winters he taught school; and the two last 
years he attended Ives Seminary, at Antwerp, during the fall, in order 
to still further prepare himself for teaching, which vocation he followed 
during the succeeding winters in the towns of LeRay, Philadelphia and 
Wilna, New York. Being possessed of ambition, he hired as helper in 
a cheese factory in order to learn the art. After one season in the cheese 
factory he took charge of Sanford's Corners factory the following sea- 
son, and was subsequently in charge of a factory at Philadelphia for 
lour summeis. rie had previouslv borne h\^ share in the arduous work 
of making cliarcoal, and surprised liis einployer by not drawing his earn- 
ings as fast as due to buy tobacco and other useless "necessities." Hav- 
ing saved his earnings, he bought a farm of one hundred and fifty-three 
acres in the town of Philadelphia, which he still owns. For a period of 
five years he was clerk for M. E. Aldrich in a general store at Philadel- 
phia. In the spring of 1902 he bought the Collins farm, on Alexandria 
road, near Carthage, which he occupied two seasons and now rents. He 
is the owner of business property in Carthage, and started a laundry in 
December, 1903, in order to keep things moving. With the same indus- 
try which characterized his early life he keeps doing something, and is 
the right kind of a man to have in the town to help it. 

Mr. Whaling became a resident of Carthage in 1885, and worked 
one }-ear as a clerk in the drug store of Bachman & Carter. Having 
been appointed deputy postmaster by Lewis H. INIills, he served until the 
death of Mr. ]\Iills, carrving on the office until his successor was ap- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 567 

pointeil. During this time he liecanie interesteil in a furniture business 
with Eugene A. Walsh, tlie Inisiness heing conducted by Mr. Walsh, 
under the title of Walsh & Whahng, and this connection continued for 
nine years. In 1894, during President Cleveland's second administra- 
tion, Mr. Whalmg was made postmaster of Carthage, and held the office 
four years. In the course of his active career he has operated a sawmill, 
dealt extensively in lumber, and for some years gave considerable atten- 
tion to the breeding of trotting horses. In 1891 he was elected supervisor 
of the town of Wilna, and held that office three years, resigning it to take 
the office of postmaster of Carthage. He is a consistent Democrat in poli- 
tics, and an active member of St. James's church. He is a member of the 
Carthage Grange, and tiie local lodges of Knights of Columbus and Royal 
Arcanum, in both of which he has filled official stations. 

Mr. W^haling w-as married, September 22,. 1895, to Miss Lucy Col- 
lins, who was born in Carthage, a daughter of Thomas Collins, whose 
biographv is a feature of this work. Their children are : John Collins, 
George Collins, and Helen Alice. 

THOMAS NELSON STEWART, a successful farmer of Cham- 
pion, residing near Great Bend, is a grandson of one of the pioneer set- 
tlers of the town. James Stewart, a native of Vermont, came to Cham- 
pion in 1812 and soon after took up land in the bend of the river, above 
the present village of Great Bend, which lie cleared, and there he died 
February 22, 1835, aged sixty-three years. His wife Mary survived him 
nearly three years, passing away February 5, 1838, at the age of sixty 
years. Their children are accounted for as follows : Rachel, the first, 
married Dr. Eh W'est, of Carthage, where she died. Thomas dwelt near 
his father in Champion, where he died. Alfred died at Great Bend. 
Orson receives further mention in a following paragraph. Sarah became 
the wife of Ira Paddock, and died at Great Bend. Abner C, born in 
1S21, enlisted m August. 1862. in Company C, Thirty-fifth Regiment 
New York Volunteers, and was discharged in the following year on ac- 
count of disability from injuries received while going up the bank of 
Antietam Creek at the battle of Antietam. He died in 1897 at Great 
Bend. 

Orson Stewart was born February 22, 1808, in Grand Isle county, 
Vermont, and was, therefore, just twenty-seven years old on the day of 
his father's death. Soon after his majority he commenced buying land 
which he cleared up, and had one hundred and fifty acres at one time. 



568 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

He sold this and in March, 1855, purchased one hundred acres on lot 2, 
where his son now resides. The stone house and part of the barn which 
now occupy the place were then in existence, and he subsequently made 
additions to the barn, so that the appearance of the buildings has been 
little changed in the last forty years. From this place he sold off twenty- 
six acres and still had a fine farm, beautifully located. He operated a 
home dairy many years, making butter for the market, but had the 
advantage of local cheese factories in his later years. j\Ir. Stewart was 
very fond of horses, and dealt in them considerably at one time, bring- 
ing them from Canada and selling them to his contemporaries. He was 
a man of strong sentiment and firmly fixed in principle. If one offended 
him he sought to prevent a repetition of the offense by avoiding inter- 
course with the offender. To his friends he was ever loyal, and he 
sought to serve the general welfare in all things. He acted with the 
Whigs upon assuming the duties of citizenship, and was among those 
who gave first allegiance to the Republican party. 

Mr. Stewart was married, March 24, 1840, to Miss Sophronia M. 
Clark, daughter of William Clark (see Clark). She was born Septem- 
ber 22, 1816, in Champion, and died September 11, 1891, in the stone 
house where most of her married life was passed, being eleven days less 
than seventy-five years old. Mr. .Stewart passed away August 16, 1896, 
in his eighty-ninth year. 

Thomas Nelson Stewart, only son of Orson and Sophronia Stewart, 
was born March 7, 1847, "s^"" Black River, north of his present home, 
and grew up from the age of eight years in the stone house which still 
shelters him. He attended the village school at Great Bend until he was 
eighteen years old, and continued to bear a share in the labors of the 
hom.e farm until twenty-two years of age. He then went to Michigan, 
in which state he spent two years, being engaged a part of that time in 
driving the stage between Traverse City and Big Rapids. On account 
of his father's advancing 3'ears, he was then persuaded to return and 
manage the farm, which became his by inheritance. About 1873 he 
acquired iiy purchase forty-seven and one-half acres on the opposite 
side of the road, which he continues to cultivate in connection with the 
paternal acres. His dairy contains fifteen cows, and he gives some at- 
tention to the growing of young stock. He is a member of Great Bend 
Grange, in which he has held office, and is a steadfast Republican in polit- 
ical faith. For two years he served the town of Champion as constable. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 569 

Industrious and progressive, Mr. Stewart is respected as a citizen and 
farmer, and enjoys a peaceful, contented life. 

He was married, in January, 1867, to Minnie Slack, who died June 
16, 1869, aged seventeen years and nine months, leaving a daughter, 
Minnie, now a resident of Watertown. In 1871, Mr. Stewart married 
Mary Chard, who died July 18, 1895. aged forty-six years, leaving seven 
children. ^Villiam, the first of these, is now employed in Carthage. 
Carrie married William Davis, a farmer of Rutland. James and Eugene 
reside at home, being employed at Deferiet. Nellie, Mary Belle and 
Abner are at home, the last-named being a student of the village school. 
Mr. Stewart was married a third time, March 18, 1896, to Olive Hub- 
bard, a daughter of Moses and Margaret (Ensign) Hubbard (see E. D. 
Hubbard). 

JOHN G. GONSETH, a resident of Depauville, New York, where 
for the past four years he has successfully conducted a general hardware, 
carriage and harness-making business, is a man of keen discrimination, 
sound judgment, diligence and enterprise, and these characteristics be- 
speak for him a brilliant success in the future and a richly merited pros- 
perity. He was born in Canton Berne, Switzerland, October g, 1874, a 
son of Christian and Louisa Gonseth, and grandson of Christian Gonseth, 
who was born in Switzerland in tSio, was one of a number of children, 
and he spent his entire life and died in the home of his childhood : he 
was a glassblower by trade and made fancy articles of spun glass which 
were readily disposed of at advantageous prices. 

Christian Gonseth (father) was also a native of Canton Bern, 
Switzerland, the date of his birth being 1844. He was reared on a farm 
in his native village, obtained a common school education, and later in 
lite came to the United States in 1884, settling in New York state near 
Sanfords Corners. He was accompanied by his wife. Louisa Ador, born 
in Switzerland in 1846, one of a large family of children, and several of 
their elder children who were born in Switzerland. Their family con- 
sisted of the following named children: i. Louisa, became the wife 
of Jake Stalder, living near Lafargeville, New York, and they are the 
parents of three children. 2. Christian, married Emma Stalder; their 
son Fred is now employed on the police force in New York city. 3. 
John G., mentioned at length hereinafter. 4. Alice. 5. Frederick, mar- 
ried Stella Wilrath, of this county, has one child. 6. Miles. 7. Bertha. 
8. Christine. 9. Charles. 



670 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Tiic early years of the life of John G. Gonseth, tliinl child in order 
of birth born to Christian and Louisa (Ador) Gonseth, were spent at 
Sanfords Corners, New York, where he acquired a practical education 
in the common schools, and whence he removed, in 1899, to Depauville, 
New York. Here he first established a harness and bicycle business, but 
finding that there was a constant demand for hardware of all kinds he 
added a new department to his establishment, which is fully equipped 
with a select line of general hardware and carriages. By his straightfor- 
ward and progressive method of conducting this enterprise he has won 
the public confidence in an unusual degree and gained a liberal patronage. 
Mr. Gonseth was united in marriage, August 22. igoo, to INIay E. 
Nellis, Ijorn in Depauville. New '^'ork, January 20, 1879, daughter of 
Edgar and Eva (Seeber) Nellis, who were the parents of three children: 
May E., the eldest, wife of Mr. Gonseth; Bertha, born December 5, 
1886; Orlando, born July 11, 1892, died May 10, 1895. 

Mr. Nellis is a farmer in Depauville, where he and his family have 
spent all their lives. 

HERBERT J. I<RAME. 3il. D.. of Clayton, is the present repre- 
sentati\-e of a family which for four consecutive generations has fur- 
nished to the medical profession of Jefferson county some of its most 
distinguished members. 

His great-grandfather, William Frame, was born in 1776, in Ver- 
mont, graduated from Fairfield College, Herkimer county. New York, 
and there practiced his profession in the township of Russia, till 1822, 
when he came to Jefferson county and settled in Depauville as the suc- 
cessor of Dr. Page, who was the first physician in the village. He mar- 
ried Clarissa Joy, a native of Vermont, and their children were: Luke 
E., mentioned at length hereinafter; Solomon V., Betsey and Ann. Dr. 
Frame, the range of whose practice extended over many miles of the 
neighboring country, from Pillar Point, Brownville, to Gananoque, 
Canada, continued m the active discharge of his professional duties until 
liis death, which occurred at Omar while on a visit to a patient, Septem- 
ber 5, 1845, 3t seventy years of age. His wife died ^Nlarch 25, 1882, at 
ninety-six years. 

Luke E. Frame, son of William and Clarissa (Joy) Frame, was 
born in Russia, Herkimer county, and in 1840 began the study of 
medicine under the guidance of his father and afterward attended lec- 
tures at the Geneva Medical College, from which he received, in 1844, 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 671 

the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He settled in Depauville, where he 
speedily established such a reputation that upon the death of his father 
he succeeded to the latter's practice. While placing fidelity to his obli- 
gations as a physician before every other duty, he yet found time to take 
an active part in public affairs and received frequent proofs of the high 
regard in which he was held as a citizen. He served for five consecu- 
tive years as supervisor of the town of Clayton, and for one year was 
president of the board. He held the office of postmaster, and in 1838 
was adjutant of the Two Hundred and Twenty-fifth Regiment of the 
State Militia in the Patriot war. June 8, 1869, he joined the Jefferson 
County Medical Society, of whicii, in 1870, he was vice-president and 
in 1878 president. He was a stanch Democrat of the free soil Ijranch 
of that party. He married Louisa Hunt, by whom he had three chil- 
dren; George B., who is now deceased; Silas Wright, who is a practic- 
ing physician in Belleville, and Solomon V., mentioned at length herein- 
after. Like his father. Dr. Frame continued in active practice until his 
death, which occurred March 20, 1883, when he had reached the age of 
seventy-one years. At that time he was the oldest practicing doctor in 
the county, having practiced in Depauville thirty years. His wife died 
May 8, 1896, at seventy-eight years. 

Solomon V. Frame, son of Luke E. and Louisa (Hunt) Frame, was 
born January 22, 1841, in Depauville, where he received his education. 
Deciding to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, he en- 
tered the Medical College of the University of Buffalo, from which he 
graduated in 1862 as Doctor of Medicine. He had not been long en- 
gaged in practice when, feeling that duty called him to take up arms in 
defense of the government, he enlisted September 3, 1863, in the Four- 
teenth New York Heavy Artillery. He served only a short time and did 
not go to the front. Lie was then appointed assistant surgeon, January 
27, 1864. in the Sixteenth New York Heavy Artillery, and served until 
the close of the war, having participated in the battles of Dutch Gap, 
Chapin's Farm, Laurel Ilill, the operations about Petersburg, l^ort 
Fisher, Wilmington, North Carolina, North Branch Cape, and Fear 
River, North Carolina. On his return to civil life Dr. Frame practiced 
for some time at Three Mile Bay, and in 1868 came to Clayton, where 
the remainder of his life was passed. In 1870 he joined the Jefferson 
County Medical Society. He was a prominent G. A. R. man and was the 
first commander of the post. Politically he was a Democrat. 

Dr. Frame married, October 8, 1862, Avis D., who was born in 



572 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Depau\-ille, daughter of James and Deboral: (Fry) Johnson (sketch 
elsewhere). Tlie former, who was a native of Herkimer county, was a 
merchant in Depauville, where he held the office of sheriff, and was 
elected to the assembly. His last years were spent in mercantile 
business in Clayton, where he died February 6, 1890. Dr. and Mrs. 
Frame were the parents of three children : Merton E., who engaged in 
business in Clayton, married Fannie, daughter of William and Maryette 
(Johnson) Hills, of Chaumont, was the father of two daughters, Corinne 
M. and Mary V., and is now deceased; Herbert J., mentioned at length 
hereinafter, and Vivene B. Dr. Frame died December 8, 1899, in the 
fifty-seventh year of his age, leaving a vacancy in the ranks of the med- 
ical profession of Jefferson county which will not soon be filled. His 
widow is still living. 

Herbert J. Frame, son of Solomon V. and Avis D. (Johnson) 
Frame, was born September 10, 1866, and when two years of age was 
brought by his parents to Clayton, where he received his education. 
Choosing as his life work the profession which might be said to be 
hereditary in his family, he pursued a course of preparatory study under 
the direction of his father, and then entered the College of Physicians 
and Surgeons of Baltimore, Maryland, graduating in the class of 1896 
with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. The following year he began 
practice in Clayton, being associated with his father until the death 
of the latter, since which time he has practiced alone. His standing 
both with the public and with the profession is deservedly high. He is 
examiner for a number of lodges (F. & A. M., Clayton Lodge, Cape Vin- 
cent Chapter, Watertown Commandery) and insurance companies, and 
is health officer of the town and village of Clayton. He is a member 
of the Jefferson County Medical Society, the I. O. O. F., the Foresters 
and a number of minor organizations. In politics he is a Democrat. 

COLONEL ROBERT P. GRANT, of Clayton, Jeft'erson county, 
New York, a prominent financier, and whose activities have been use- 
fully employed in various large industrial and commercial enterprises^ 
is a native of the state, born in Neversink, Sullivan county. May 
6, 1844. 

The Grant family is of Scotch origin, and that its meml^ers yet 
pieserve the sterling qualities of the ancestral stock is attested by the 
career of Colonel Grant, whose attainment to prominence and success 
in life is due to unflagging industry and indomitable resolution. Robert 






^ 




T?ie Cems JPiibhslint,, 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 573 

P. Grant, paternal grandfather of his namesake, Colonel Robert P. 
Grant, was a second cousin of the illustrious Ulysses S. Grant. He 
was born in Stonington, Connecticut, and was a captain in the state 
militia. He died in Liberty, New York, in 1852, at the age of thirty 
years. His wife Elizabeth was a daughter of Benjamin Crumb, who 
was a major in the Revolutionary army, and died in Liberty at the 
advanced age of eighty-eight years. She was twice married, and was 
the mother of nine children, three of whom were by her marriage with 
Robert P. Grant; these were Isaac, Benjamin and Lucy, and the last 
named, who married one Cargill, is still living at Livingston Manor, 
Sullivan county. New York. The mother of these children died at the 
age of eighty years. 

Isaac, son of Robert P. and Elizabeth (Crumb) Grant, was born 
in 1822, in Liberty, New York, and died in 1865 at Neversink, New 
York. He received only three months' instruction in the public schools, 
and early learned carpentering and joiner work. He was for many 
years a builder and contractor, making a specialty of putting up tan- 
neries, of which he built twelve in Sullivan county alone, and a number 
in Pennsylvania. He followed his trade in Neversink, New York, 
wdiere he was a successful merchant during his later years. He was a 
man of excellent ability, was active in public affairs, and served for 
many years as supervisor. He was a methodist in religion, a trustee of 
the church, and his political affiliations were with the Democratic party 
He married Hannah, a daughter of Peter Leroy. Her father was the 
first settler in the locality, when he located in Neversink, New York> 
reaching the spot by following blazed trees through the forest, and 
living the strenuous life of a pioneer. He died at the age of eighty 
years. His wife was Gertrude Leroy. With her husband she was a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal church. She died at the age of 
forty-eight years, having borne to her husband eight children, of whom 
five are living — Colonel Robert P. Grant, Elmer, Icilla, Myron and 
Hattie. 

Robert P. Grant, eldest child in the family named, was reared to a 
life of industry, and bore a man's part in labor while he was yet a boy. 
■Meantime he acquired the elements of an education in the district 
schools and aftenvards managed to obtain two winters' tuition in the 
high school, and this preparation, with his natural ability and subse- 
quent attainments, proved an ample equipment for the duties of a stirring 
and useful life. After leaving school he took employment as clerk in 



574 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

a store al a wage of t\venty-fi\e cents a clay, boarding liimself. His 
compensation was afterwards increased to fifty cents a day, and hy 
dint (if close economy lie made some savings with wlnich lie purchased 
a few slieep, adding to his flock from time to time as Iiis means would 
permit, tintil at the end of five years he sold out and found himself in 
possession of a capital amounting to $500. Young Grant then learned 
tlie tanner's trade, in which he was employed in 1863. when he tem- 
porarilv abandoned his work to respond to the call of his country. He 
recruited Company C, Ninety-second Regiment, National Guard, State 
01 New York, was elected captain, and by reason of his proficiency in 
tactics was made drill master of the regiment. \Mien the rebel General 
Early moved up the Shanandoah Valley to the invasion of Pennsyl- 
vania in 1864, Captain Grant participated with his regiment in a move- 
ment to the state line. The march, guard duty and scouting involved 
constant arduous effort, hut the crisis passed without an engagement. 
Captain Grant displayed fine soldierly qualities during this service, and 
in 1865 he was promoted to the colonelcy of the regiment, although he 
was its youngest commissioned officer. 

After his return from military service. Colonel (irant, with two 
others, purchased the tannery in which he had served his apprentice- 
ship, but a year later relinquished the business to engage in farming 
and store keeping in Neversink. In 1869 he removed to Hawkinsville, 
New York, where he conducted a tannery store, and a year later he 
embarked in a similar venture in Lycoming county. Pennsylvania. At 
the end of another year he went to Cameron county, in the same state, 
where he bought the bark on a ten-thousand-acre tract and also erected 
a tannery which he operated until 1874. In that year he disposed of 
his holdings, and with a capital of a few thousand dollars went to 
Fort Madison, Iov,a, where in association with State Senator Kent 
lie founded, in 1875. the Farmers" & Mechanics' Bank. The liusiness 
failing to satisfy his desires, he sold his bank stock and returned in 
tlie following year to Clayton, New York, and with A. F. Barker estal> 
lished the Bank of Clayton, which four years later was reorganized 
under the same name under the state l)anking system. In 1884 Colonel 
Grant bought the Barker interest, and with fifty others organized the 
Exchange Bank, an institution which under his masterly direction 
proved successful beyond all expectations, and afiforded opportunitx- for 
a splendid expansion. In 1897 he effected a reorganization with one 
hundred and twentv stockholders, and on January i following placed 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 575 

tlie bank under the national banking system as the National Exchange 
Bank of Clayton, with a capital of $50,000 and a surplus of $10,000. 
From the founding of the new bank to the present time, Colonel Grant 
has occupied the two-fold position of cashier and general manager, 
and is also one uf the largest stockholders. His fine abilities as a 
financier ha\e not only been well displayed in connection with that 
institution, but are I'ecognized in various other departments of the 
monetary world. He is a stockholder in six national banks and a trust 
company, and is a meml>er of the National Bankers' Association. He 
enjoys a wide acquamtauce with state and national legislators, by whom 
he IS frequently consulted with reference to financial and economical 
questions 

Colonel Grant is also actively interested in the industrial life of 
the community and state, and is recognized as a prime leader in bring- 
ing dairying and its allied interests to their present great importance. 
About tvvcnty years ago he became interested in cheese manufacturing, 
and he built one factory after another until he is now the managing 
owner of seven. He has given active and intelligent effort to the pro- 
tection of dairy products and of the consuming public by placing the 
seal of official condemnation upon adulterations, and as president of 
the Watcrtown Produce Exchange was instrumental in procuring the 
enactment of various restrictive laws. In 1901 his long continued 
efforts found their result in the formation of the State Dairy Board of 
Trade, of which he was elected president. One of the first acts of this 
body was to urge the passage of a bill prohibiting the false labeling of 
any dairy or other food products, in any state or territory, which was 
introduced in the national House of Representatives by Congressman 
Sherman of Utica. 

Colonel Grant has also afforded to the people of his county services 
of signal usefulness in the capacity of supervisor, to which position he 
was elected in 1901. but refused a re-election in 1903. His official 
conduct is characterized by the same lofty ideals of integrity as mark 
his personal dealings, and he is sagacious in guarding every public 
interest. An instance in point occurred when he discovered that a 
$50,000 appropriation for the erection of a new county building had 
been illegally made, no legal call having been made for the special session 
of the board at which this action was taken, and in order to avoid 
further complications he insisted upon full compliance with the law. 
At the entertainment given in 1903 at Thousand Islands Park by 



676 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Jefferson county, to the State Board of Charities, Colonel Grant was 
chosen by the board of supervisors to dehver an address of welcome 
in behalf of that body, and he acquitted himself with such credit as to 
secure high praise from prominent personages present and through 
the newspapers tha-e represented. 

His activities in the community reach into various useful fields. 
He conducts a large fire insurance business; is treasurer of the Anglers' 
Association of the St. Lawrence River; a member and former vice- 
president of the Fish, Game and Forest League, is now on the Legis- 
lature and Law Committee and a trustee of the Thousand Islands Park 
Association. He is also a member of Clayton Grange, No. 647, which 
belongs to the state association of Granges. In politics he is a Repub- 
lican, and his leaderlike qualities will in all probability find recognition 
in his calling to official station in the near future. He is a distinguished 
member of the ]\Iasonic fraternity, and has attained to the Thirty-second 
degree, Scottish Rite. 

Colonel Grant was married September 14, 1870, to Miss Lettie C. 
Hayes, daughter of Daniel and Isabella (Love) Hayes. Her father 
was born in Nottingham, Herkimer county. New York, a son of Joseph 
Hayes, who was a native of the Mohawk Valley, and died in Boon- 
vilie at the age of sixty years; the wife of Joseph Ha^es was Ellen 
Machrel, who bore three children to her husband, whom she long sur- 
vived. Their son, Daniel Hayes, was a successful merchant and prom- 
inent in church and community affairs in Hawkinsville, New York, 
where he died, aged seventy-four years. His wife, who died aged 
seventy-one years, was a native of Maine, a daughter of James Love, 
who was an early settler in Oneida county. New York, where he died, 
aged ninety years. They were the parents of five children, of whom 
three are living; Oscar W., who resides in Hawkinsville, New York; 
Lettie C, who became the wife of Colonel Grant ; and Belle, who lives 
in Hawkinsville, New York. 

To Colonel and Mrs. Grant has been born a son, Robert D., who 
at an early age has entered upon a useful and what promises to be a 
brilliant career. He was educated in the public schools, and then en- 
tered the National Exchange Bank in the capacity of bookkeeper. He 
afterwards resigned and engaged in a plumbing and hardware business 
which he conducted with success for six years. His early training and 
business interests found reassertion, and January i, 1903, he returned 
to the bank to occupy the position of assistant cashier. He was married 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 577 

in 1894 to jMiss Glenny Skinner, and of this union was born a son, 
Robert P. Grant, Jr. 

WILLIAM MENELEWS THOMSON. One of those men whose 
solid ability and sterling worth of character render them valuable citi- 
zens in whatever community they may reside, is William M. Thomson, 
of Watertown. His ancestors on both sides were natives of the "land 
of brown heather and shaggy wood." 

David Thomson, his father, was born March -'5, i(Si8, in Edin- 
burg, Scotland, where he received his education in a local academy. He 
was a papermaker, and followed h.is trade in his native land until 1854, 
\\ hen he emigrated to the L'nited States and settled in Paterson, New 
Jersey. There he took charge of a mill, and later removed to Trenton, in 
the same state, where he remained some years. After spending some 
time in New Brunsw'ick, New Jersey, he went to West Cummington, 
Massachusetts, where he made his home for ten years, moving thence 
to Holyoke, where he had charge of the Franklin mill. After working 
for a time in Woodsdale, Ohio, he returned to Holyoke, and opened 
a grocery store, but subsequently disposed of the business and went to 
Colbrook, Connecticut, thence to Southport, in the same state, and thence 
to Ballston, New York. He subsecjuently lived in Palmer's Falls and 
Mechanicsville, again in Ballston and then in Rock City Falls. About 
1881 he retired from business and took up his abode in Rochester with 
his son William M. Thomson. 

Some years before leaving Scotland Mr. Thomson married Eliza- 
beth, daughter of William A. Menelews. a stone mason, who died in 
Scotland at the age of seventy-three. Mr. and Mrs. Thomson were the 
parents of nine children, five of whom are living : Elizabeth, wife of 
Frank Hitchcock, wdio resides in Buffalo: William M., mentioned at 
length hereinafter ; David, w ho is employed in a paper-mill in Dayton, 
Ohio : George, who is engaged in the silk business in Buffalo ; and Mary, 
who married Walter Hunt, and resides in Montclair. New Jersey. The 
following are deceased : Jessie, tw^in of Elizabeth, who died at forty- 
four : James, who died in Michigan, at the age of forty ; Nellie, who died 
at twenty-two; and George, who was four years old at the time of his 
death. He was the fourth child, and his name was given to one born 
after his death. The death of Mrs. Thomson, the mother of the family, 
occurred May 17, 1887. in Ballston, New York, -when she had reached 
the age of fifty-nine years. She was a woman loved and esteemed by all 



578 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

who knew her. Mr. Thomson, the father, died in 1892. in Rochester, 
at the lionie of his son WilHam M. In all his migrations he had held 
the position of mill superintendent, and had manufactured paper of all 
grades. It is probahle that in his own line of business he had a wider 
experience than any other man in the United States. 

William M. Thomson, son of David and Elizabeth (jMenelews) 
Thomson, was born April 28, 1852, at Pennecook, Scotland, in the same 
house in which his mother first saw the light. At the age of two years 
he was brought by his parents to the United States, where he was edu- 
cated in common and high sch.ools. He was associated with his father 
until reaching the age of twenty-one years, acquiring in the meantime a 
thorough knowledge of mechanics, when he went to Brooklyn, New 
York, where he obtained employment as paper machine tender on Red 
Hook Point. At the end of two years he went to Bloomtield, New Jersey, 
and then to Chicago, as a tender. After spending three years at Palmer's 
Falls, he went to Ballston and thence to Troy. His next removal was 
to Zanesville, Ohio, whence he returned to Ballston, and subsequently 
spent two years in Herkimer with Warner Brothers. He made his home 
for seven years in Rochester, and in 189 1 went to Felts Mills, where he 
remained for ten years, being associated with the Taggart Brothers as 
night foreman. In 1901 he came to Watertown to assume the position 
of superintendent of the paper-mill of Knowlton Brothers. This posi- 
tion he still holds, contributing largely by his assiduity and energy to 
the prosperity of the business, and having under his direction forty-seven 
men. He is a member of Valley Lodge, No. 109, of the Masonic order, 
of Rochester, New York, and also of the Royal Arcanum. His political 
affiliations are with the Republicans, and he is a member of the Presby- 
terian church. 

Mr. Thomson married, in 1882, Louise Dittmar, and they have three 
children : David, who is in a school of technology in Potsdam, New 
York: Nellie, who attends the high school: and Fatanitza, who is also at 
school. 

Mrs. Thomson is a daughter of ^Matthew IJittmar, who was a roll- 
ing-mill worker in Zanesville, Ohio. His children are: Nelson, who 
resides in Zanesville: Frederick, who lives in the same place: Julius, who 
was born in Zanesville, but now resides in New Philadelphia. Ohio; 
Louise, who was also born in Zanesville, and became the wife of William 
M. Thomson, as mentioned above: Lena, who resides in Ilion, New York; 
Charles; Emma; and Theodore — the three last named being residents 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 5T'J 

of Ohio. Airs. Dittmar, the mother of this family, is still living. Mr. 
Dittmar, who was a man much respected in the community in which 
he resided, died at Zanesville. in i()02, at the age of seventy-eight. 

GEORGE S. McCARTIN, an attorney-at-law of Watertown, 
where he has practiced his profession since his admittance to the bar ii\ 
1902, was born August 2, 1878, a son of John C. McCartin, and grand- 
son of Thomas McCartin, who \\as born in 1810 in Ireland, came to this 
country in 1830, and settled in Redwood, Jefferson county, New York. 
He was a farmer by occupation, which industry he followed in the town 
of Alexandria for a number of years, and also in the town of Water- 
town. His death occurred in the town of Rochester, New York, in the 
eighty-first year of his age. He and his wife were the parents of four 
children. 

John C. McCartin was born in Redwood, New York, March 8, 1840. 
Ele spent the early years of his life in his native town, and received a 
common school and academic education. He assisted with the work of 
the farm until 1858, when he came to Watertown, studied law with the 
then celebrated law firm of'Beach & Brown, and was ^.dmitted to the 
bar in 1861, two years later serving in the capacity of managing clerk 
in the same office. He enlisted in Company A, Fourteenth New York 
Heavy Artillery, in 1863, and was promoted to first lieutenant of his 
company. On account of physical disability he was discharged from 
the service m the summer of 1864, and soon thereafter resumed the prac- 
tice of law at Watertown. In 1868 he became associated with Hon. 
Pardon C. Williams, under the firm name of McCartin & Williams, and 
this connection continued until Mr. \Villiams was elected justice of the 
supreme court, in 1S83, after which Mr. McCartin practiced alone until 
his death, January 2, 1892, at which time he was among the oldest and 
most successful members of the bar. He was a Democrat in politics, 
took an active interest in national and local affairs, and although the 
county was strongly Republican, he was elected judge by a majority of 
over two hundred, and was the first Democrat elected to fill that posi- 
tion in over thirty years. 

In 1872 Mr. McCartin was united in marriage to Julia Sterling, 
bom in Antwerp, New York, daughter of John Riley and Roxanna 
(Church) Sterling (see Sterling, eighth generation). One child was 
born to them, George S., mentioned in the following paragraph. Mrs. 
McCartin, who died in 1889, was one of five children. In 189 1 Mr. 



680 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

McCartin married for his second wife Miss Fanny Paddock, of Norwich 
Corners, New York, who survived him, and is now a resident of Penn- 
syh'ania. 

George S. McCartin was reared in Watertown, and his educational 
advantages were obtained in the common and graded schools of that 
town, at Andover Academy, and Yale College, from which institution 
he was graduated in 1900. He then pursued a course of legal training 
in the New York Law School, was graduated therefrom in 1902, and at 
once returned to Watertown, New York, where he has practiced his 
chosen profession to the present time. 

EMORY JOSEPH PENNOCK, a worthy representative of an old 
New England family, and of the pioneer settlers of the town of Champion, 
was born on the farm where he now resides, February 28, 1832. His 
grandfather, Joseph Pennock, was born in Hadley, Massachusetts, as 
was probably his wife, Chloe Castle. About 1808 they moved from Old 
Hadley to Athens, New York, where they died. 

Wilson Pennock, son of Joseph and Chloe, was born September 16, 
1789, in Hadley, and died June 16, 1867, in Champion. His wife, Sarah 
Pardee, was born September 19, 1792, in Dorset, Vermont, and died 
February 25, 1873, in Champion. They reared seven children and lost 
eight before three years old, including a pair of twins. Of the survivors, 
John Wilson died April 18, 1858, in Champion. George W. died July 3, 
1892, in Chaumont, where most of his life was passed. Ames C. 
is a resident of Omaha, Nebraska, aged eighty-eight years. Hiram, born 
August 28, 1817, died December 15, 1891, at Grand Rapids, Michigan. 
Huldah Ann, born October 14, 1819, is the widow of Miner Allen, son 
of Miner Merrill (see Merrill), and resides in West Carthage, a very 
sprightly and interesting lady, who furnished much of the dates and 
other information in this article. Clarissa E. married (first) John C. 
Pennock (distant relative), and (second) Thomas Crawley, and resides 
in Ottawa. Canada. Emory Joseph receives extended mention below. 

Wilson Pennock became a Methodist preacher, and settled on a 
farm one mile south of Great Bend in 1809. He was a pioneer minister 
and rode all over northern New York, being frequently called fifty mileS 
on funeral occasions, and often made trips through the wilderness on 
horseback, lasting six weeks. In the meantime he cleared up a farm, and 
became a large dealer in cattle. For fourteen successive autumns he 
drove cattle to Albany to market, employed by Daniel Potter. He was 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 581 

known tliroughdut tliis region as "Father Pennock," and was nniversally 
loved for liis kind Iicart, genial manner, and ministratio:is tn the needy 
and to the spiritnal welfare ot all. Every settler in a vast district was 
personally known to him. and his kind oifices were innnmerable. 

Sarah Pardee, wife of Wilson Pennock, was a daughter of another 
pioneer of Jefferson county, John Pardee, who was born December 25, 
1764, in Salem, ^^'ashington county. New York, and died June 3, 1827, 
in Champion. His wife, Hannah Gage, was born February 28, 1772, 
in Dorset, Vermont, and survived him almost fifteen years, dying March 
27, 1842, while visiting a daughter in the town of Wilna. Pre\'ious to 
1804 Mr. Pardee settled at Champion "Huddle." and built a mill and 
distillery, which were operated by the excellent waterpower which then 
existed there. The destructiiju of the timljer has \'erv much decrease<l 
the streams of this section, and those which once carried considerable 
machmery are now insignificant brooks. In 1804 Mr. Pardee sold out 
his mill and moved to a farm near Great Bend, where he kept a hotel 
and postoffice. 

Emory J. Pennock grew up on his father's farm. -which has e\'er 
been his hon:e except during two years spent at Canton. New York. 
He attended the district school at Great Bend, going in summer until 
nine years old, and continuing during the winter terms until se\-enteen. 
He was early accustomed to mow with a scythe, keeping along with the 
men employed on the farm. Being industrious and helpful to his father 
he continued at home and saw very little money until his marriage. 
For two years thereafter he worked by the month for his father in the 
summer, and cut cordwood and otherwise employed himself during 
the winter. In those days he received twenty-five cents per cord for 
cutting wood, and paid for his board by doing chores about the farm 
night and morning. During two w'inters he threshefl wheat with a 
flail, receiving every eighth bushel as compensation. In 1853 he bought 
a farm of over fifty acres at Canton, on which he settled, but was in- 
duced to return to the parental home at the end of two years in order 
to care for his parents in their declining years. The original farm con- 
tained ninety acres, and he has bought and sold, now holding one hundred 
and eleven acres. From the most humble beginnings, having enough 
money to pay the clergyman's fee at his marriage, a worker, looking 
for improvements in all matters, he has become one of the most inde- 
pendent farmers of the town, and is a much respected citizen. In years 
past he has produced large amounts of the celebrated Black river pota- 



682 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

toes, and now gives considerable attention to dairying. His influence 
is always cast in favor of the highest morality, and he is ready to foster 
every movement calculated to benefit mankind. He was one of the 
organizers of the Good Templars' lodge at Great Bend, and among its 
most faithful supporters during its existence. For many years he has 
been a leading member of the Methodist church at Great Bend, in which 
he is class leader and district steward. He adhered to the Republican 
party in its early days, but has been active in the Prohibition party dur- 
ing the last sixteen years. He refused a nomination for supervisor 
on the Republican ticket, but has frequently been the candidate' of the 
Prohibitionists for that office. 

Mr. Pennock was married November lo, 1852, to Miss Cordelia M. 
Lewis, who was born in Champion, October 5, 1833, a daughter of 
Abel P. and Mary Lewis, of that town. Abel P. Lewis was a native 
of Canada, a son of Nicholas and Barbara (Potter) Lewis. Mary Stod- 
dard was a daughter of Stephen and Elizabeth (Beardsley) Stoddard, 
the latter a native of Vermont. The Lewis family has been traced to 
Richard Lewis, a native of Rhode Island. His son, Arnold Lewis, took 
up seven hundred acres of land in the town of Champion. He had served 
seven years as a colonial soldier in the French and Indian war, and was 
for a like period a continental soldier in the revolution, holding the rank of 
colonel. In the last struggle he acted as surgeon, and jjecame a preacher of 
the Baptist church after peace came. He died in 1824 in Champion. His 
son Nicholas came to Champion in 1804, and occupied the farm now 
owned by Norman J. Fuller, between Great Bend and Champion village, 
where he died. He had two children — Robea and Abel P. The latter 
was born in 1800, in Gal way. Saratoga county, this state, and succeeded 
his father on the homestead farm. He died February 12, 1888, at the 
home of his son, in Rutland. His wife died in 1858, after which he 
retired from farming. They bad thirteen children, of whom eleven 
grew to maturity. Of these eleven, Mrs. E. J. Pennock is the sixth. 
She is the mother of seven children, four of whom are li\ing: William 
Emory, born June 12. 1853, resides on his father's farm, which he tills. 
He married Emma, daughter of John Floyd Peck, and granddaughter of 
Joseph Peck, a Revolutionary soldier (see Peck). Lillian C, November 
■ "10, 1854, is the wife of Fred Cooper, residing in Philadelphia, this coun- 
ty. Elva Estelle. wife of William King, was born February 5. 1859, and 
died January 13. 1885. in Champion. Arthur F., April 2. 1861. is a 
Metlindi^t clergyman, now pastor of Grace church. Utica. Cora B.. June 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 583 

9, 1S63, is tlie vife of Frank Phillips, of Carthage, New York. Frank 
W., born September 5, 1865, died July 24, 1873. Grace M., May 30, 
1874, died June 20, 1892. 

WILLARD AINSWORTH. The Ainsworth family is first found 
of record in Lancaster, England, A. D. 1369, when John Ainsworth 
owned lands there. The coat-of-arms is : "Gules, three battle axes, 
argent; crest, two battle axes in saltire, proper; motto, courage sans peur." 
(I) Tbe founder of the American family was Edward Ainsworth, 
who is first of record in this country at the time of his marriage, January 
II, 1688, at Roxbury, Massachusetts, to Joanna Hemingway. She was 
born September 21, 1670, a daughter of Joshua and Joanna (Evans) 
Heming^vay. She died December 23, 1748, and he passed away March 
5, 1741, aged about eighty-nine years, which indicates his birth to have 
occurred about 1652. (Tradition says that l:e was called to this country 
from England by his uncle, Daniel Ainsworth, who had no other male 
heir. Being uneasy he went to sea, and after being wrecked on the 
Georgia coast, settled down at Roxbury.) In 1703 he sold out his pos- 
sessions at Roxbury, and removed to Woodstock, Connecticut, where 
a large contingent from Roxbury had previously settled. He was a 
husbandman, and gradually added to his lands, which were made over 
to his son in 1725, with provision for the maintenance of himself and 
wife. He increased his estate fourfold, beside providing in his lifetime 
for ten children, and the inventory shows it to have been valued at more 
than eight hundred and one pounds, sterling. His children were: Joshua, 
Hannah, Edward, Elizabeth, Daniel, Joanna (died an infant), Joanna, 
Judith, Dorcas, Thomas, Mary, Smith and Nathan. 

(H) Edward, second son and third child of Edward and Joanna 
(Hemingway) Ainsworth, was born August 18, 1693, at Roxbury, and 
was married April 5, 1722, to Joanna Davis, of Pomfret, Connecticut 
(the town adjoining Woodstock on the west). She was a daughter of 
Matthew and Margaret (Corbin) Davis, was born October 22, 1696, 
and died April 25, 1753. Their children, all born in Woodstock, were: 
Abigail, Daniel, Alice, Edward and William. All were living June 28, 
1758, when all agreed that tlie youngest son should administer the 
estate. This date fixes, approximately, the time of the father's death. 

(iri) Daniel, eldest son and second child of Edward (2) and 
Joannah (Davis) Ainsworth. was born October 21, 1724, in Woodstock, 
and was married June i, 1746, to Sarah Bugbee, who died July 14. 1763- 



584 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

He was married (second) January 7, 1766, to Elizabeth Corbin, of Dud- 
ley, Massachusetts (adjoining Woodstock on the north). He died in 
1810 at Cherry Valley, New York, aged about eighty-six years. He was 
a heavy loser by the depreciation of continental money during and after 
the revolution. His children by the first marriage, all born in Wood- 
stock, were: Sybil, Candace, Elizabeth, Henry. Joannah, Daniel, Leon, 
Wyman, Sarah and Willard. The children of the second marriage were : 
Elijah, Perley, Dolly and Philip. 

(IV) Henry, eldest son and fourth child of Daniel and Sarah 
(Bugbee) Aiiisworth. was born January 3. 1753, in Woodstock, Con- 
necticut, and immediately after attaining his majority settled in Pomfret, 
Vermont. There he was married December 18, 1777, to Frances Throop, 
daughter of Judge John Winchester Throop, of Pomfret. She was torn 
May 23. 1757, and died January 29, 1829, in Milton, Vermont. In 1797 
Mr. Ainsworth moved to Fairhaven, Vermont, and thence in 1807 to 
St. Albans, same state. He died in Milton July 11, 1827. All of his 
children, except the last, were born in Pomfret, and were named as 
follows : DanfQrth, Avery, Alfred, Henn% Frances Throop, Willard, 
Sarah, Judah Throop (died an infant), Judah Throop and Amos Throop. 

(V) Willard, fifth son and sixth child of Henry and Frances 
(Throop) Ainsworth, was born November 22, 1791, in Pomfret, Ver- 
mont, and was married August 21, 1815, to Sarah Green, of St. Albans, 
same state. She was born August 6, 1795, and died October 24, 1866, 
surviving her husband by one year and six days. He passed away October 
18, 1865, in Cape Vincent, this state. He settled in that town in the 
year 1819, and became an extensive and successful farmer and man of 
affairs. His farm was on the present line between Lyme and Cape Vin- 
cent, both towns being one under the former name until April 10, 1849, 
manv vears after his arrival. He was a Presbyterian, in early life a 
Whig, and from its organization a supporter of the Republican party. 
For a period of nine years he served as supervisor of his town, before 
the divisiou, and in other ways aided in the advancement of the public 
interests. He was a friend of education, and was ever ready to con- 
triluite to the material and moral growth of his neighlxirhood and the 
world at large. 

A brief account of his children follows : Fanny Manila, married 
Augustus Carrier, of Cape Vincent, and died in Washington. D. C. 
Mary Simmons became the wife of Henry Esselstyn, of Clayton, and died 
in 1892, at Detroit. Sidney W. died at Crown Point. Indiana. Eliza 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 585 

H. married S. B. Hance, a United States consul at Kingston, Canada, 
and died at Cape Vincent. Henry G. died at Pleasant Hill, Missouri. 
Judah H. died at Cape Vincent. Sarah G. died at Bloomington, Illinois, 
while the wife of Spencer R. Briggs. Corydon died when one year old. 

(VI) ^^'illard, youngest son and eighth child of Willard (i) and 
Sarah (Green) Ainsworth, was born March 6, 1830, in the town of Cape 
Vir.cent. He was early trained in the habits of industry and thrift peculiar 
to our New England ancestry, and attended the public schools of his 
native town. From the completion of his studies until he attained 
the age of thirty-five years he devoted his entire attention to agricultural 
pursuits. He then entered upon a mercantile career, and the following 
five years was associated with G. W. Warren in the management of a 
general store at Cape Vincent. He then organized and became president 
of the Lake Ontario Fish Company, a stock concern extensively engaged 
in the wholesale fish business, which bought up or consolidated several 
fishing interests. In 1893 lie disposed of his interests and retired from 
active business pursuits. Under his management the business, had in^ 
creased from year to year until the annual sales aggregated many tons, 
averaging in value fifteen hundred dollars weekly. It gave constant em- 
ployment to eighty men, and to meet the demands of the trade required 
twenty-five boats, fifty miles of gill-nets, and one hundred and twenty 
pound-traps and hoop-nets, the value of which was forty thousand dol- 
lars. Before engaging in the fish business, Mr. Ainsworth served as 
deputy collector of customs at Cape Vincent for four vears, and his 
administration was characterized by the utmost integrity and fidelity. 
He holds membership in the Presbyterian church of Cape Vincent, and 
for the long period of thirty years served as chairman of its board of 
trustees. He supports the principles advocated by the Republican party. 

Mr. Ainsworth was married June 2, 1858, to Mary C. Herrick, of 
Clayton, New York, born March 4, 1835, daughter of Martin and Lucy 
(Colborn) Herrick. Lucy Colborn was a daughter of Rev. Ebenezer and 
Lucy (Chandler) Colborn, and traced her lineage to William Chandler, 
who settled in New England in 1637, and also to John Eliot, the "Apostle 
to the Indians," whose descendants have made bright pages in the history 
of the country. Mr. and Mrs. Ainsworth's children are : Nellie A., 
wife of Frank Sears McGraw, mother of two children, John and Sears 
McGraw : they reside in Buffalo, New York. Corydon Everett, who 
married Florence Mead, and they are the parents of two daughters, Mar- 
garet and Frances Ainsworth, and reside at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. 



586 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Emma (i., Airs. \\'illiam R. (iray, mother of two children, Joseph How- 
ard and Alary Ainsworth Gray, residing at Elizabeth, New Jersey. Elton 
E., who married Helen Gnihe, and one son was born to them, Willard 
Ainsworth, now deceased; they reside at Seattle, Washington. Sally 
Green, wife of James Burt Smalley, who died in Bay City, Michigan, in 
1901 ; she was the mother of one son, Darw'in Covert Smalley, now de- 
ceased. Mary Willard Ainsw orth, who was an invalid from birth, died at 
the age of fourteen years. 

JOFIN W. SPRATT. Among the citizens of Watertown who, 
during the last half century, have contributed largely toward building 
up the material prosperity of the city and also toward securing good 
municipal administration, John W. Spratt holds an honored place. His 
ancestors were English and Scotch-Irish. His grandfather, who was 
the proprietor of a hotel in Belfast, Ireland, was the father of a son, 
Henry, who came to the United States in 1825, and learned the printer's 
trade at Watertown, where he arrived when a boy, his parents being 
then deceased. He lived for a time in Watertown, and married Mar- 
garet, sister of the celebrated Judge Joseph Mullin, a sketch of whom 
appears elsewhere in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Spratt were the parents 
of four children, only one of whom is now living, John W., mentioned 
at length hereinafter. In 1838 Mr. Spratt died in Vicksburg, Missis- 
sippi, at a comparatively early age. His wife survived liim fifty years, 
passing away in 1888. 

John W. Spratt, son of Henry and Margaret (jNIullin) Spratt, was 
born February 16, 1833, in Watertown, where he received his education 
in the common schools. Over fifty years ago he went into the hardware 
business, being employed by various firms, with all of whom he acquired 
a reputation for ability and trustworthiness. Forty years ago he engaged 
in business for himself as a member of the firm or Sargent & Spratt 
In the course of time this firm was succeeded by that of Gates & Spratt, 
w^iich conducted a flourishing business for many years. Since 1890 Mr. 
Spratt has been the sole proprietor. As a hardware merchant his trans- 
actions are large and his commercial relations extensive, but notwith- 
standing his 1>usiness cares he is never unmindful of the duties of a 
citizen, and so convinced are his townsmen that the administration of 
municipal affairs could not be intrusted to better hands that he has for 
some time past filled the office of alderman. 

Air. Spratt married in December, 1865, Annie Al., daughter of 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 589 

Mark Taylor, and two cliildren were born to them, Annie May and 
Joseph H. The latter enlisted in the Ninth Infantry Regiment during 
the Spanish war, and participated in several battles about Manila. 
After surviving the perils and hardships of the campaign he died in 
San Francisco while on his way home. This affliction fell with double 
force upon Mr. Spratt, inasmuch as he had a few years before been 
bereaved of his estunable wife whose death occurred in 1893. 

Joseph Spratt, son of Henry and Margaret (Mullin) Spratt, 
and brother of John W. Spratt mentioned hereinbefore, was born in 
183 1, attended the common schools, and received a military education 
at West Point. He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and entered 
upon the practice of his profession in Watertown. He was successful 
in a marked degree, and the future seemed to be full of promise for 
him when the country was agitated by the outbreak of the civil war. 
Mr. Spratt was among those who responded to the call to arms. Gladly 
foregoing at the call of duty the bright prospects which seemed opening 
before hun, he exchanged the office for the camp, the forum for the 
battlefield, and went to the front as captain of Battery H, First New 
York Artilk-ry. No battery did more or better service than this one, 
which was pronounced by Genei'al Barry, Chief of Artillery, to be the 
best in the Army of the Potomac. Later Captain Spratt aided in organ- 
i.'^^ing the Tenth Heavy Artillery, with which he went out as major, 
being subsequently promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. His 
whole term of service covered a period of three years. He was wounded 
at the battle of Fair Oaks, and in 1865 died from disease contracted 
while in the army, thus laying down his life for his country. In grate- 
ful recognition of his self-sacrificing services his name has been g'wtn 
to the Grand Army Post of Watertown. 

LORENZO THURBER KELSEY, a retired agriculturist of Cape 
Vincent, Jefferson county, New York, is a native of the town in which 
he now resides, born December 28, 1828, a son of Silas L. and Sally 
(Powers) Kelsey, and grandson of Eber and Lucy (Leet) Kelsey. 

Eber Kelsey w"as born in Killingworth, Middlesex county, Connec- 
ticut, in 1757. He was a resident of his native state until 1806, when 
he located at Cape Vincent, New York, where for many years he was 
the proprietor of a hotel on Market street, which was a stone structure 
of renaissance architecture, and in addition to this undertaking he oper- 
ated a ferry to Wolf Island. Pie was one of the earliest settlers of Cape 



590 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Vincent, remaining tiiere until his deatii. His wife. Lucy (Leet) Kel- 
sey, a New Englander by birth, who died January 7, 1824, aged fifty- 
five years, bore him the following named children : Zilpha, born April 
19, 1783; Mary. March 21, 1785 : Eber Lewis, January 4, 1787; Eli, Oc- 
tober 20, 1789; Laura C. December 15, 1791 ; Gideon Leet, November 
21, 1792; Uriah Alson, December 21, 1794; Lucy Ann, November 14, 
1796; Silas Lender, December 20, 1798: Sarah S.. December 9, 1800; 
and Lorenzo Aison, February 22, 1803. 

Silas L. Kelsey, ninth child of Eber and Lucy (Leet) Kelsey, was 
born in Lewis county. New Yorlc. December 20, 1798. He obtained a 
common school education, and at the age of thirteen years came to Cape 
Vincent, where he resided for the remainder of his life, devoting his 
eritire time and attention to agricultural pursuits. He was united in 
marriage to Sally Powers, born in St. Albans. Vermont, a daughter of 
David and Anna (Day) Powers, and their children were: Harriet 
Adeline, wife- of Charles Smith, born October 11, 1824, died July 24, 
1880; she was the mother' of one son, Silas Avery. Helen Maria, wife 
of Henry Ainsworth, born May 21, 1826, died May 6, 1847; she was 
the mother of two children, Hattie and Silas Henry Ainsworth. Lorenzo 
Thurber, born December 28, 1828, mentioned hereinafter. Hannah 
Sophia, Mrs. James T. Borland, born July 7, 1833, died October 27, 
18C7, St Cape Vincent; she was the mother of three children, Nellie E., 
Dwight Mather, and Wilbur Porter Borland. Leander Gideon, born 
April 26, 1841, resides at Cape Vincent. Silas L. Kelsey, father of these 
children, died August 5, 1865, aged sixty-seven years, and his wife. Sally 
(Powers) Kelsey, passed away March 10, 1868, in the sixty- fourth year 
of her age. 

Lorenzo T. Kelsey attended the common schools of his native town, 
and thereby accpired a practical education which prepared him for the 
activities of life. His business career was devoted to the occupation of 
farming, and by intelligent and careful management he obtained satis- 
factor}' results, and was able to accumulate a competency which enabled 
him to retire from active business pursuits in the }'ear 1870, and since 
that time, a period of thu-ty-four years, he has enjoyed a well-earned rest. 
For eighteen consecutixe years, beginning shortly before leaving the farm, 
he was the incumbent of the office of assessor of the town of Cape Vin- 
cent, having been elected on the Democratic ticket. He adheres to the 
tenets of the Presbyterian church, in which he holds membership, and is 
affiliated w-ith Cape Vincent Lodge No. 293, Free and Accepted Masons. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 591 

On October 15, 185 1, Mr. Kelsey married Margaret Baird, born 
November 18, 1830, at Johnstown, Fulton county, New York, daughter 
of Azariah, born January 18, 1803, at Johnstown, New York, died Sep- 
tember 28, 1864, and Katherine (McGregor) Baird, born May 3, 1809, 
at Johnstown. New York, died May 14, 1894. One child was born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Kelsey, Hattie Evelyn, born October 6, i860, died Sep- 
tember 25. 1882. 

RICHARD DAVIS, a highly respected citizen of Cape V'incent, is 
a representative of that class of men of foreign birth, who, after their 
adoption in a new country, are true and loyal to the interests of the 
same, and are v.illing if need be to sacrifice their all for its safety and 
honor. 

He was born in Crowny Horan, in County Wicklow, Ireland, May 
15, 1827, and emigrated to this country at the age of twenty-two years. 
His ancestors came from Wales to Ireland, long ago. His maternal grand- 
father, Richard Doyle, was a blacksmith at Berlingate, Ireland. His 
parents, James and Winifred (Doyle) Davis, died in Ireland, but one 
brother, John, and two sisters, Margaret and Mary, all of whom are now 
deceased, came to America and settled in Kingston, Canada. John 
was the father of one child, who died in early childhood ; Margaret be- 
came the wife of Michael Donahue, and three children were born to 
them — Florence and Mary Hannah, now deceased ; and Mary, who resides 
with Mr. Davis: Mary, the other sister, died unmarried, in Kingston. 
After a residence of two years in Kingston, Richard Davis removed to 
Cape Vincent and secured employment with the Rome, Watertown & 
Ogdensburg Railroad Company, with which he remained for twenty 
years, and during the greater portion of this time he served in the 
capacity of watchman. The following nine years he was occupied as 
a cartman, and then entered into partnership with William Sheely in 
the coal business. This connection continued for two years, and at the 
expiration of this period Mr. Davis purchased his partner's interest, 
and has since conducted the business, assisted by his sons, under the 
firm name of R. Davis & Sons, dealing extensively in coal, wood and 
ice. and achieving a large degree of success, the direct result of honor- 
able business methods. He is a devout member of Saint Vincent 
DePaul Catholic church, and a staunch supporter of the principles of the 
Democratic partv, with wliich he has always cast his vote. For five 
years he was a trustee of the village of Cape Vincent. 



592 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Mr. Davis was married early in 1855, at Cornwall, Canada, to 
Mary Cummins, who was born in 1833, in the same parish as her hus- 
band, and was his schoolmate in childhood. She died September 14, 1903. 
Their children were: Richard, who married Mary Burns, and has two 
children, James and Helen Davis; Winnifred, residing with her father; 
John, a resident of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, who married Nellie Dough- 
erty, and their children are James Lawrence, and John Valentine Davis; 
James, who married Mary Brady, and their children are Richard, Anna, 
Margaret and Mary Louise Davis; Thomas, who married Anna Aiken, 
no issue; Anna, Mary, Sarah, and Martha, the last four deceased. 

THOMAS JOSEPH DAVIS, resident manager of the Cape Vin- 
cent Seed Company, with which he has been connected for the past 
nine years, is a native of Cape Vincent, bom in 1870, a son of Richard 
and Mary (Cummins) Davis. 

Thomas J. Davis acquired a practical education in the common 
school and high school of Cape Vincent, New York. He then became 
associated with his father in the coal business under the firm name of 
R. Davis & Sons, and for nine years he was thus engaged, during which 
time he added matei'ially to the growth and prosperity of the enter- 
prise. On July I, 1895, he entered the employ of the Cape Vincent Seed 
Company, Limited, serving as foreman, and by conscientious and faith- 
ful labor he advanced step by step during the first six years of his con- 
nection with the company, and finally, in 1901, was appointed to the 
responsible position of resident manager of the business now known as 
the Cape Vincent Seed Company. It is in a prosperous and flourishing 
condition and increasing wonderfully yearly, their manufacture being 
pea meal and split peas for consumption in the making of soups. The 
business was established about sixteen years ago, and the manufactory 
is owned by H. C. Gibbs, whose office is located in the Produce Exchange, 
New York city. Mr. Davis is a devout member of Saint Vincent DePaul 
Catholic church. Cape Vincent ; casts his vote with the Democratic party ; 
and is affiliated with the order of Knights of Columbus. No. 259, ^^■ater- 
town. New York. 

At Oswego, New York, September 24, 1902, Mr. Davis was united 
in marriage to Anna L. Aiken, a native of that city, born in 1870. 

HECTOR ADAMS, of Chaumont, who after an active business 
life of nearly one-third of a century, is living in pleasant retirement. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 593 

is the representative ol an old and honored English family, as is attested 
by its coat-of-arms : A shield, upon which is borne a red cross and five 
stars, surmounted by a lion; motto: "Sub cruce salus Adams." 

(I) George Adams, the ancestor of the American family of 
Adams, is found of record in Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1645. He 
removed to Catubridge Farms, Lexington, in the same province, and 
there died, leaving a widow Frances, five sons and one daughter. His 
tliird son, 

(II) Daniel Adams, born in 1652, in Louisburg, was a sergeant in 
the Louisburg train band, and a member of the general ccjurt in 1699, 
1702 and 1703. He married September 20, 1677, and died November 17, 
1 713, leaving a widow with six sons and five daughters. 

(III) Benjamin, fifth son of Daniel Adams, was born in 1691, 
and was captain of a military company in 1733. He was twice married, 
his first wife being Rachel Chase, and the second Lois Griswold. He 
died October 3, 1770, leaving five sons and one daughter. 

(IV) Timothy, second son of Captain Benjamin Adams, was born 
in 1 716. He married Hannah Chase, and they were the parents of five 
sons and one daughter. He moved to Hartford county. Connecticut. 

(V) Benjamin, son of Timothy Adams, was born January 2, 
1738, and died January 3, 1816, aged seventy-eight years. He served 
with the rank of sereeant in the Revolutionary war. He married Hannah 
Dyer, who was born January 27, 1742, and settled in Simsbury, Con- 
necticut. They had three sons and five daughters. The mother died 
January 3, 1824, in Addison, Vermont, where they had settled about 
1802. 

(VI) Benjamin, eldest son of Benjamin Adams, Sr., was born 
October 30, 1765, in Simsbury. He married Susan Snell October 10, 
1792, in Burhngton, Vermont. In 1807 he settled at South Hero, and in 
1S36 he removed to Milton, same county, and died April 11, 1842. His 
wife was born May 11, 1768, in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, and died 
May 4, 1850, at Milton. They had four sons and six daughters. 

(VII) Hector, eldest son and fifth child of Benjamin Adams, Jr., 
was born in Burlington. Vermont, September 27. 1800. He was ad- 
mitted to the practice of law in 1823, and was a distinguished lawyer 
at the Vermont liar, as well as in the United States courts, and repre- 
sented his town in the legislature for five sessions, being the third in 
descent to so serve, his father and grandfather having also sat in that 
body. He removed to Battle Creek, Michigan, in October, 1861, and 



594 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

died in Vermont, Way 31, 1875, ''' the residence of his son in South 
Hero, whom he was visiting. He married, November 13, 1823, Laura 
Merriam. She was a daughter of Daniel Merriam, and a descendant in 
the eighth generation of George Barbour, who was born in 1615, and 
came to America in 1635. 

(VIII) John Quincy Adams, eldest son of Hector and Laura 
(Merriam) Adams, was Iwrn in South Hero. Grand Isle county, Ver- 
mont, August 26, 1824, and died in Chaumont. Jefterson county, Xew 
York, July 17, 1896. He removed in 1867 to the place last named and 
purchased a tract of land comprising three hundred acres or more. He 
was an industrious, progressive man, and conducted a lumbering busi- 
ness in addition to managing his farm. He was essentially a self-made 
man, and was held in high respect for his broad intelligence and integrity 
of character. His wife was Emily Lincoln Ayers, who was born in Mil- 
ton, \'ermont, January 24. 182S, and died in Chaumont, February 18. 
1903. They were married September 3. 1846, in Milton, and their 
children were; i. Agnes €., born in iMilton, Vermont. April 6, 1847; 
died September i, 1897, at Rices. Jefferson county. New York, being 
the wife of H. Frank Comins. 2. Ashton Warren, born at Milton, 
Vermbnt, February 26, 1851, now a resident of Chaumont. 3. Hec- 
tor, born in Colchester, Vermont, March 5, 1858. 4. Harry, born in 
Colchester, March 6, i860; died October 23, 1862. 5. Jennie, born m 
Colchester, August 5, 1862; married Dr. W. C. Borden, and lives in 
Washington, D. C. 6. William Horner, born in Colchester, August 
28, 1864; died in August, 1879. 7. May Elizabeth, born in Chau- 
mont, Jefferson county. New ^'ork. May i, t868; married George R. 
Warren, and resides ni Chaumont. 

Hector Adams, third child and second son of John Quincy and 
Emily Lincoln (Ayers) Adams, received his education in the common 
schools of Chaumont. His active years were given to the stone and 
lime business, from which he recently retired. He has borne a full 
share of the advancement of community interests, and is known as a 
progressive, public-spirited citizen. He attends the Presbyterian church, 
is a Republican in politics, and is a member of Chaumont Lodge. No. 172, 
F. and A. M.; and of Chaumont Grange, No. 855, Patrons of Hus- 
bandry. 

Mr. Adams married, April 2. 1890, Miss Sarah E. Haas, daughter 
of Henry and Cecilia Haas, of Chaumont. To them was born, December 
4. 1895. a son, .\lton Flaas Adams. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 51*5 

HON. ISaAC L. hunt, an attorney of Jefferson county, and 
recently its representati\e in the state legislature, and now also identified 
with agricultural afTairs, was born in Salisbury, Herkimer county, New 
York, December 4, 1850. The ancestry of the family can be traced 
back to Edward Hunt, of Shropshire, England, who was a colonel in 
Cromwell's army, and one of his most loyal followers. He came to 
America in 1661. It is a tradition in the family that he commanded 
the troops at the time of the execution of King Charles I. His wife 
was the only daughter of Lord Gilmore, and they became the founders 
of the Hunt family in New England. Isaac Hunt, the next of the name 
of wliom we have record, participated in a number of the early Indian 
wars. He was a farmer by occupation, and a very active and influential 
man in his community. He married Grisel Lord, and they resided in 
Stratford, Connecticut. 

Their son, William L. Hunt, the great-grandfather of Isaac L. 
Hunt, was born in Stratfield, Connecticut, February 12, 1770, and spent 
his childhood in Sharon, Connecticut, wdiere he acquired his education. 
Learning the tanner's trade in his early youth, he followed it for a long 
period and spent some time in that pursuit at Hillsdale, Columbia county, 
New York. In 1812 he removed to Westmoreland, New York, where 
he spent his remaining days. He married Betsy Calkins, who was born 
in Sharon, Connecticut, and was a daughter of Elijah Calkins. The 
founder of the Calkins family in America came from Wales and settled 
in Rhode Island. Elijah Calkins was one of a family of seven brothers, 
all of whom served in the Revolutionary war. Elijah Calkins became 
one of the first residents of Sharon, Connecticut, and was active in found- 
ing the colony there. 

Rev. Isaac L. Hunt, a son of William L. Hunt, was born in Hills- 
dale, Columbia county. New York, December 5, 1808. He pursued 
his academic education in Cazenovia Seminary and afterward attended 
Hamiilton College, at Clinton, New York. Preparing for the min- 
istry, he was licensed to preach in the Methodist Episcopal church and 
at dififerent times filled the pulpits of the churches in Little Falls, Fulton, 
Oswego, Lowville and Potsdam, aiid for many years was a presiding 
elder in northern New York, during which time he resided at Adams. 
There he spent the last years of his life. He married Miss Judith L. 
Lambertson, who was born in Salisbury, Herkimer county, New York, 
April 18, 1818. She was a daughter of Cornelius Lambertson, who 
was also born in Salisbury, and was one of seven brothers, all of whom 



596 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

followed farming, and their descendants still live in Herkimer county. 
They were sons of Cornelius Lambertson, who was born in New Jersey, 
and served for seven years in the Revolutionary war. He was a first 
lieutenant in the early part of his service, but before the close of the 
war had become a lieutenant-colonel. Removing to Herkimer county, 
New York, he became one of the first settlers of Salisbury. His an- 
cestry could be traced back to 1640, when the first of the name emi- 
grated from England and settled in New Jersey. His second wife was 
Mary Johnston, who was born in what is now Montgomery county, 
New York, and was a relative of Sir William Johnston. Her ancestry 
was Irish. There were five children in the family of the Rev. Isaac 
L. Hunt, but only two are now living, the daughter being Mrs. Harriet 
R. Reynolds, the wife of the Rev. W. E. Reynolds, a clergyman of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, now located in Westmoreland, Oneida 
county, New York. 

Isaac L. Hunt, the only living son, was educated in St. Lawrence 
Academy in Potsdam, New York, in Cazenovia Seminarj-, Hungerford 
Institute, of Adams, New York, and the Union University, of Schenec- 
tady, New York, being graduated in the last named institution in the 
class of 1872. He then entered upon his business career as an accountant 
in the Merchants' Bank of Watertown, New York, occupying that posi- 
tion for a number of years. He afterward practiced law in Adams, 
New York, having been admitted to the bar in 1872. He is now devot- 
ing his time and attention to agricultural interests, making a specialty 
of the breeding of Swiss cattle. His business discernment and enter- 
prise have been manifest along various lines with the result that success 
has attended his efforts. 

In his political affiliations Mr. Hunt is a stalwart Republican, and 
being well informed on the issues and questions of the day is able to 
support his position by intelligent argument. He has exerted consid- 
erable influence in local political affairs, and is also well known in the 
state as a Republican leader. In 1881 he was elected to the general 
assembly of New York, in which he sei-ved until 1884. He has been 
the candidate of his party in the primary conventions for congress for 
three terms, and has a strong following. For four years he has been a 
member of the New York central committee of the Republican party 
for his congressional district. Fraternally he is a Mason and an Odd 
Fellow, and he also belongs to the Grange. His public-spirited interest 




j/r fo.i^otM^o^.A^ 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 597 

in the welfare of his town is manifested by his acti\e co-operation in 
man}- nieasnres for the general good. 

Mr. Hunt was married September i, 1874, to Ahce A. Gilbert, of 
Adams, New York, a daughter of Hon. William A. and Julia A. (Scott) 

Gilbert. Her father was a well known statesman of this purtion of 

New York, and represented his district in the legislature and also in 
congress. 

ADAM BICKELHAUPT, a merchant of Redwood. Jefferson 
county, New York, who has been the architect and builder of his own 
fortunes, was born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, March 10. 1848. 
His father, Hieronemus Bickelhaupt, born in the same town as his son, 
in 1806, came to the United States in 1853, bringing with him his 
entire family. 

Hieronemus Bickelhaupt (father) settled in the town of Alex- 
andria, New York, where he became a practical and successful farmer. 
He had engaged in trucking in Germany, and at the time of his emigra- 
tion to the new- world had a very limited capital. He worked for an 
entire year for one hundred dollars, and out of this sum saved ninety- 
four. The following year he was paid fifty cents per day for his service 
with the exception of two months in the summer, when he received 
seventy-five cents per day. For seven years he rented farms, and 
through his unremitting economy and unfaltering industry saved some 
money. Finally, in 1863, he became the owner of a valuable tract of 
one hundred and sixty acres, upon which he resided for the remainder 
of his days. He took part in the affairs of the German Lutheran church, 
and was largely instrumental in the upbuilding of the organization. Mr. 
Bickelhaupt was twice married. He first wedded a Miss Daum, and 
to them were born two sons — George, who served with the Third W'is- 
consin Cavalry Regiment during the civil war ; and Leonard, who was 
born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, came with his father to America 
in 1853, and by untiring industry and careful management he became 
the possessor of two of the finest farms in the town of Alexandria, com- 
prising four hundred and fifty acres ; later he sold two hundred acres 
to his son-in-law, John Stein. At the age of twenty-three years Leonard 
was united in marriage to ]\Iiss Susan Betz. The second wife of 
Hieronemus Bichelhaupt. and mother of Adam Bickelhaupt, was Mar- 
garet Hartman, a daughter of John Hartman, who conducted a small 
farm in Germany, and in the year 1853 he started with the Bickelhaupt 



598 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

family for America, but died during the voyage. Mrs. Bickelhaupt, 
wlio died at the age of eighty-two years, was one of a family of ten 
children, of whom two are living at the present time (1904); Adam, 
who makes his home in Orleans, New York, at the advanced age of 
ninety years; and George, who is living in Redwood, New York, at 
the age of seventy years. Hieronemus Bickelhaupt died July 14, 1875. 
Adam Bickelhaupt pursued his education in the common school near 
his father's home. He assisted in the cultivation of the farm until he 
was about eighteen years of age, when he entered the employ of A. A. 
Holmes & Company, proprietors of a general store in Redwood. There 
he remained continuously as a salesman for six years. In 1872 he 
formed a partnership with Byron Briggs, a relationship that was main- 
tained for two years, also was for two years with James H. Helmer, and 
since 1876 he has continued in merchandising alone. He has steadily 
developed this enterprise until he is now proprietor of the largest store 
in Redwood. He has not confined his efforts entirely to this one line, 
but has directed his labors into other fields of activity, which have been 
attended with excellent results. In 1879 he established a factory for 
the manufacture of cheese, and continually enlarged his business in 
this direction until 1902, in whicii year he operated twenty-one cheese 
factories, and not only sold all of the products from these, but also 
bought from other factories, handling about six hundred and twenty- 
five tons of cheese, or one million two hundred and fifty thousand 
pounds. He conducts the most extensive business of any manufac- 
turer of Limburger cheese in the state of New York, the control of 
which has become a most important industry, and displays marked en- 
terprise and keen discernment. In addition to his other business asso- 
ciations, he is also a director of the National Bank of Clayton. 

In his political views Mr. Bickelhaupt is a Democrat. He was 
elected a member of the board of supervisors in 1885, and served in that 
and the succeeding year; he was again elected in 1898, and since then 
has been elected each succeeding year, his present term of office ex- 
tending to December 31, 1905. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity 
at Alexandria Bay, also being affiliated with Theresa Chapter, Royal 
Arch Masons, Watertown Commandery, Knights Templar, Syracuse 
Consistory, and has passed through the Scottish Rite bodies to the 
Thirty-second degree. He is also connected with the Independent Order 
of Foresters. 

In 1S74 Adam Bickelhaupt was united in marriage to Miss Alina 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 599 

L. Olney, a daughter of Selh Olney, and they beeanie tlie parents of 
the following named children: Lena, born April 29, 1875, died March 
14, 1877; Ina L., born September 10, 1876, died October 11, 1878. 
Miles H., born April 25, 1878; he graduated from Cornell University 
as a mechanical engineer, and also took a special course in electrical 
engineering, and is now connected with the Westinghouse Electric 
Company of Pittsburg. Carl O., born September 22, 1879, who is 
employed in his father's oflice. Calla, born February 9, 1881, who is 
pursuing a course in the Emerson School of Oratory, in Boston, Mas- 
sachusetts, as a member of the class of 1904. 

Thomas Olney, the ancestor of the Olney family in America, of 
which Mrs. Adam Bickeihaupt is a member, was born in 1600, in the 
city of Hartford, Herfordshire, England, which formed part of the 
parish of St. Albans, the seat of one of the most ancient monasteries, 
and long celebrated in English history as the center of spiritual influ- 
ence. Of his early life little is known, but on April 2, 1635, he emi- 
grated to Salem, Massachusetts, in the ship "Planter." He was ii\ 
the Massachusetts Colony, and in 1638, with eleven others, settled at 
the head of Narragansett Bay and formed what was known as the 
Providence Colony, from which the present city of Providence, Rhode 
Island, derives its name. He was very prominent in this colony and 
held many offices. He was the first township commissioner to form the 
town government, and served as assistant for Providence from 1648 
to 1663, with Roger Williams and Thomas Harris. He was a judge 
of the justice court, and was among the grantees of the royal charter of 
Charles H. He was one of the founders of the First Baptist Churcl\. 
of Providence, and for a time acted as its pastor. His homestead was 
located on North Main street, a short distance from the present state 
house, and what is now known as Arsenal Lane ran through his land. 
In 1 63 1 he married Maria Small, and five children were born to them. 
His death occurred in 1682. 

Epenetus Olney, second son of Thomas and JNIaria (Small) 
Olney, was born in England in 1634, and after coming to this country 
took an active part in affairs of the colony, and was a member of the 
colonial assembly and of 'the town council. On March 6, 1666, he 
married Mary Whipple, daughter of John Whipple, and eight children 
were born of this union. Epenetus Olney died June 3, 1698. 

John Olney, fifth child and third son of Epenetus and Mary 
(Whipple) Olney, was born in 1678. On August 11, 1699, he married 



600 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Rachel Coggeshall, and the)' were the parents of nine children. He 
made his home in Smithtield, Rhode Island, and his death occurred there 
on November 9, 1754. 

Nedebiah Olney, son of John and Rachel (Coggeshall) Olney, 
was born Februar}- 10, 17 14. He moved to New York state about 
the year 1762, and some time previous to this he married Nancy or 
Marcy Davis, and the names of four children of this family are found 
on the records. 

Nedebiah, eldest son of Nedebiah and Nancy or Marcy (Davis) 
Olney. was born in 1746. He accompanied his father to New York 
state in 1762, was among the pioneer settlers, and with forty-two 
others was captured by the Indians and carried to the Ohio river, 
where they were subjected to such severe torture that all except young 
Olney and one other young man perished. The two survivors were 
adopted by the wife of the chief, and after several years of captivity 
they escaped and found their way back through the wilderness to their 
hemes. By his marriage to Susan Brown he was the father of four 
children. He died in 1829. 

Davis Olney. son of Nedebiah and Susan (Brown) Olney, was 
born December 7, 1777. He was married December 31, 1806, to Olive 
Rowe, and thirteen children were born to them. Their home was in 
Tylerville, New York, and here Davis Olnej^ died, October 14, 1868. 

Seth R. Olney, second son of Davis and Olive (Rowe) Olney, 
was born March 14, 1810. On September 30, 1837, he married Julia 
Hill, and they resided at Redwood, New York, and they were the parents 
of the following named children: i. Mary, born July 28, 1838, died 
February 6, 1873; she became the wife of Edward Whitaker, April 2, 
1866, and they were the parents of one daughter, Julia A. Whitaker. 
2. Susan J., born July 16, 1840. 3. Mina, born August 12, 1842, 
aforementioned as the wife of Adam Bickelhaupc. 4. Darwin Y., 
born September 7, 1844. married Carrie Helmer, in 1868. 5. Luman 
R., born March 21. 1848. died December 17. 1854. 6. O. Davis, 
born February 24, 1850, was married July 20, 1879, to Cora Eddie, and 
the}- reside in Colorado. 7. Emily J., born October 14, 1852, died 
March 18, T854. 8. Edgar B., born September 8, 1856. died May 
22, 1857. 

JAMES FRAXKLIX COX VERSE. One of the extensive and 
highlv cultixated farms of ]efferson countv, Xew York, located in the 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. COl 

village of \\'oo(i\ille, is the property of James F. Converse, a native of 
Bridgewater, Oneida county. New York, the date of his birth being 
October 2, 1825. 

David Converse, grandfather of James F. Converse, was born in 
Belchertown, Hampshire county, Massachusetts, attended the common 
schools adjacent to his home, and during the active years of his long 
and useful life followed the occupation of agriculture, first in his native 
county in Massachusetts, and later in Oneida county. New York. Being 
a public-spirited citizen, willing to defend the honor and integrity of 
his country, he enlisted his services during the Revolutionai-}' war and 
was appointed to the rank of corporal. He died at his home in Bridge- 
water, Oneida count}-, in the eighty-first year of his age. and was sur- 
vived by four sons and one daughter — Thomas, Joseph. Daniel, David, 
and Rachel Converse. 

Thomas Converse, son of David Converse, was a native of Belcher- 
town, but in early life accompanied his parents to their new home in 
Oneida county, where he acquired a common school education. Upon 
attaining a man's estate he devoted his attention to agricultural pur- 
suits, which he conducted on an extensive scale in Oneida county until 
1835. when he removed to Ellisburg, and settled in Woodville on prop- 
erty now owned by his son, James F. Converse. He was an upright 
and conscientious man. won and retained the respect and esteem of his 
friends and neighbors, and for many years served as a member of the 
New York militia. He married Lydia Stratton, a native of Oneida 
county. New York, and they were the parents of the following children : 
Thomas D., pur.sued the occupation of farming in Clare. Michigan, and 
died at the advanced age of eighty years ; Almanza, a prosperous farmer, 
died September, 1888. at Ellisburg: Cyrena and Cyrenus were twins, 
born ]\Iay 28. 1810. The former became the wife of William West 
Howland. and lived in Ellisburg. where she died at the age of eighty- 
seven years. She survi\-ed her husband and subsequentl}' married 
John Allen. Cyrenus was a farmer and died July 11. 1890, at Adams 
Centre. John W. followed farming at Whitewater, Wisconsin ; Saman- 
tha died in Whitewater, Wisconsin, July 17, 1892, the wife of Hardy 
Doane, an agriculturist. Rufus H. followed the occupation of farming, 
and his death occurred March 10, 1885, in Ellisburg, New York ; George 
E. is a prosperous farmer of Ellisburg, New York; Hiram D'., born 
August 19. 1821, a farmer by occupation, died in June, 1904. in Illinois: 
Lucy C, who died in Ohio, was the wife of Cyrus N. Rowe, a farmer 



602 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

of Alasoii, ^Michigan ; James ¥.. mentioned at length hereinafter; Sarah, 
(hed at the age of two years, and Mary J., who resides at Bristol, Con- 
necticut, is the widow of John Rowe, who died in Canada. Both Mr. 
and Mrs. Converse died in the same year, 1858, their respective ages 
being seventy-six and seventy-four years. 

James F. Converse, youngest son of Thomas and Lydia Converse, 
received a liberal English education in the common schools of Oneida 
county, Belleville Union Academy and Hamilton College, graduating 
from the last named institution in the class of 1848. Since the com- 
pletion of his studies up to the present time (1904) he has been largely 
interested in general farming operations and stock growing on his farm 
of two hundred and fifty-five acres at Woodville, New York. He has 
given particular attention to the breeding of Ayrshire cattle, Shetland 
ponies and Yorkshire swine, which have been exhibited at the large 
fairs in the United States and have won prizes at the state fairs held in 
Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Mich- 
igan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri. He enjoys 
the distinction of being the oldest exhibitor in the state, and has in his 
possession more blue ribbons won as prizes for this class of stock than 
any other man. He served as president of the Ayrshire Breeders' Asso- 
ciation for live years, was president of the Jefiferson County Agricul- 
tural Society, and also a member of the State Agricultural Society for 
a number of years. He began the importation of cattle in 1856, as the 
nucleus of the present herd. His political affiliations are with the Re- 
publican party. He is a charter member of Union Grange No. 5, of 
Belleville, in \\hich he has filled most of the chairs, and which was 
established in 1873, as the successor of a farmers" club, of which Mr. 
Converse had been active many years. He is also a charter member of 
the Congregational church at Woodville. 

Mr. Converse was united in marriage, November 12, 1857, to Ma- 
rietta J. Bull, and two children were the issue of this union: i. Frank 
Alva, born May 12, 1862, married, February 26, 1889, Frances E. 
Gates, of New York City, and they are the parents of three children — 
Gates, Terry and Howard Converse, the first of whom is no\v deceased. 
Frank A. Converse conducts an extensive and profitable dairy business 
at Buffalo, New York, and is connected with the State Department of 
Agriculture as lecturer upon dairy and fruit topics at farmers' insti- 
tutes, and was superintaident of the live stock department at the Pan- 
American Exposition in 1902. 2. Marietta May. born October 18, 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 603 

1865, is now the wife of Mark S. Wilder, of Carthage, New York. 
After the death of his first wife, which occurred November 17, 1865, 
Mr. Converse contracted an alHance, December 11, 1866, with Catiier- 
ine A. Hopper, of Antwerp, New York, and two children blessed this 
union: i. George H., born June 26, 1870, resides on the old home- 
stead and is in partnership with his father in the business established by 
the latter in 1856; on January 18, 1899, George H. Converse married 
Mella Wood, of Woodville, New York, and their family consists of 
two children, Donald J. and Dorris Converse. 2. Clara J. is now the 
wife of Edward R. Bristol, residing in Sumter, Alabama. 

JOHN SESSIONS REDWAY, a successful veteran farmer and 
worthy public-spirited citizen of Ellisburgh township, belonged to a fam- 
ily which was founded in New England before the middle of the seven- 
teenth century by an ancestor who is believed to have been a native of the 
older England. The first of the race whose name is recorded is James 
Redway, whose son, James Redway (2), was a farmer at Rehoboth, 
Massachusetts, in 1644, and served as a soldier in King Philip's war. 
He was the father of a son, James Redway (3), who married Mehitable 
Bliss, and their children were : Molly, Mehitable, James, Joel, Comfort 
and Preserved, mentioned at length hereinafter. The earlier genera- 
tions of the family seem to have lived simply as colonial farmers, shar- 
ing in all the hardships, adventures and perils which inevitably fall to 
the lot of settlers in a new country, and which were much more to be 
dreaded then than now when rapidity of travel and communication has to 
a certain extent deprived them of their terrors. Mehitable Bliss was the 
daughter of Captain Nathaniel Bliss, who was born August 28, 1702, a 
descendant of Thomas Bliss, a Puritan who came from Belston, Devon- 
shire, England, to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1636. Captain Nathaniel 
Bliss entered the colonial service eight days after the battle of Lexing- 
ton, being then seventy-three years old, and served through the revolu- 
tionary war. He was still living in 1796. 

Preserved Redway (4), son of James and Mehitable (Bliss) Red- 
way, was born July 14, 1764, and in his youth served for three years in the 
continental army as one of General Washington's bodyguard. He was 
one of the pioneer settlers of Ellisburgh, Jefferson county, cleared his land 
and became a successful farmer. The large tract of which he was the 
owner has since been divided into several farms. He married Azubah 
Jones, who was born November i, 1770. Both Mr. Redway and his wife 



604 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

were of New England birth, the former having been born, as were his an- 
cestors, in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, while the latter was a native of Som- 
ers, Connecticut. Mr. and Mrs. Redway were the parents of the following 
children, all of whom, with the exception of the three last, were born 
in Galway, Saratoga county, New York, where the family lived for 
some time before coming to Ellisburgh : Chauncey H., Polly, Azubah, 
Abel, Daniel J., Albert Galton, mentioned at length hereinafter; David 
J., Abel (2). Harvey N., who lived at Potsdam, St. Lawrence county, 
v.-here he filled the office of county clerk, and where his descendants still 
reside ; and Mary M. Most of this family grew up and spent their lives 
amid their native scenes. Mr. and Mrs. Redway, the parents, died April 
25, 1837, and January i, 1853, respectively, and are buried in the ceme- 
tery at Adams. They are remembered as among the best and worthiest 
of our early settlers. 

Albert Gaiton Redvvay (5), son of Preserved and Azubah (Jones) 
Redway, was born February i, 1799, in Galway, New York, and came 
to the old farm with his parents in 1804. being educated at Lowville 
Academy. He had great taste for music, and taught a singing school 
for man\ years. He was an active member of the Presbyterian church, 
in which he held the office of elder and for a number of years led the 
choir, thus consecrating his musical gifts to the service of religion. He 
married Ann Maria Sessions, three of whose brothers were clergymen 
in the Presbyterian church, one of them, the Rev. John Sessions, having 
been for many years pastor of the Presbyterian church at Adams. The 
Sessions family was of Irish origin. The children of A. G. and Ann 
Maria Sessions were: Harvey Watts, John S., Edward Payson, Albert, 
Preserved and Angelina Rhumnia. The last-named died when one 
mondi old. An adopted daughter. Alice Cornelia, is the wife of \Y. A. 
Woodworth, of Saugatuck, Michigan. The eldest died in New York in 
1854. Edward P. and Albert P. lived at Ilion, New York, where they 
died. 

John Sessions Redway (6), son of Albert Galton and Ann Maria 
(Sessions) Redway. was born May 15, 1833, on the farm which was his 
home, and was educated in the common schools of his birthplace and 
in Albany, New York. His life was chiefly spent in agricultural pursuits 
in which he met with gratifying success, the result of enlightened skill, 
practical ability and unflagging industry. Like his father, he was a 
skilled vocalist and spent one year in New York, with the dry goods firm 
of George Bliss & Company, during which time he sang bass in the quar- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 605 

tette chuir of the Strong Place Baptist church. He also did considerable 
concert work in northern New York with Professor E. C. Taylor. In early- 
life he was a Democrat, but after the formation of the Republican party 
■was identified with that organization. He died March i, 1904, and 
was buried on the one hundredth anniversary of the settlement of his 
ancestors here. 

Mr. Redway married, June 4, 1856, Susan Maria, born September 
16, 1830, daughter of Calvin and Amney (Kellogg) Pox. The former 
was a farmer, a son of Elijah Fox, of Vermont, and was among the 
earliest settlers of the county. The following children were born to ^Ir. 
and Mrs. Redway: Ella M. and Emma J. (twins), who were born 
October 3, 1858; the former died August 8, 1893, and the latter resides 
on the parental homestead; Edward W., who was born April 23, i860, 
and died August 11, 1863; Susie C, who was born October 10, 1862, 
and died August 28, 1867; Albert P., who was born November 17, 1S64, 
and died September 3, 1867; John Sessions, who was born August 14, 
1867, and now tills the home farm; Daniel, who was born April 8, 1870, 
and died August 12, 1870, and Alice Ruth, who was born January 3, 
1872, was educated at the Adams Collegiate Institute, and is a teacher at 
New Suffolk, New York. 

John Sessions (7), mentioned above, the only son of this family who 
reached maturity, was educated at Adams Collegiate Institute, and has 
ever since resided on the homestead, devoting himself to agricultural 
pui suits like his ancestors before him. It is safe to predict that Jeffer- 
son county will add his name to her already long list of able and pros- 
perous farmers. Mr. Redway married, January 11, 1900, Maude May 
Lyman, who was born September 29, 1883, in Lorraine, daughter of 
Caleb N. Lyman, whose biography appears in this work. 

GEORGE MILTON WOOD. It would be ditiicult to say which 
of the leading interests of Jefferson county has received the greatest 
stimulus from the mental vigor, practical ability and essential upright- 
ness of George Milton Wood, of Woodville. He comes of New England 
lineage, and numbers among his ancestors men wdio, in whatever com- 
munity they may have resided, have aided in the upbuilding of the state 
and the improvement of society. 

Nathaniel W^ood, the founder of the Jefferson county liranch of the 
family, was born November 18, 1729, at Norwich, Connecticut, and 
studied for the Congregational ministry, in which he labored with self- 



liOG GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

denying zeal during tlie greater part of a long and eventful life. For 
nianv years he was pastor o/ a church at Norwich, and about the close 
of the revolutionary war went to Middletown, Vermont, whence he re- 
moved, at the advanced age of seventy-five, to Jefferson county, and 
here his last days were spent. He married. May 3. 1748, Miriam East- 
man, who was born November 2, 1727, and they were the parents of the 
following children: i. Jacob, who was born March 2, 1749, and lived 
and died on a farm known as the "old Deacon Doane place," near Wood- 
ville. 2. Ephraim. who was born November 20, 1755, and spent the 
greater part of his life and ended his days in Jefferson county on a farm 
known as the "Amos E. Wood place," at the old stone Iiouse (see S. T. 
Wood). 3. Miriam, who was born April 21, 1760, and became the wife 
of Hazen Solomon, who was born March 31, 1762. His life was, for the 
n.ost part, passed in Franklin county, at or near Chazy, where there was 
quite a colony of the Wood family, and it was there that he died. 4. 
Hannah, who was born March 5, 1764, and married (first) Nathaniel 
Hibbard, and (second) Obediah Kingsley. 5. Nathaniel, who was born 
December 5, 1766, and from middle life until his death resided on a 
farm two miles from ^^'oodville; his son was Governor Wood of Ohio, 
6. Ebenezer, mentioned at length hereinafter. The death of the Rev, 
Nathaniel Wood, the father of this family, occurred at \\'ood\ille, where 
he passed away "full of years and honors," and was buried. 

Ebenezer Wood, son of Nathaniel and Miriam (Eastman) Wood, 
was born September 17, 1771, in Norwich, Connecticut, and was still a 
boy when the family moved to Middletown, Vermont. In 1803 he came 
to Jefferson county with his three brothers, Jacob, Ephraim and Nathan- 
iel, and they were followed the next year by their venerable father. The 
family were among the pioneers of the county, and it was in honor of 
them that the village of Woodville received its name. Ebenezer Wood 
purchased a large tract of land, on while he Iniilt a log house, and after 
a few years erected in its place a large frame dwelling. He laid the 
foundation for the village by opening this house as a hotel, and further 
advanced the growth of the place by establishing a general store in 1809. 
He was a successful business man, and took a prominent part in public 
affairs. He was especially active at the period of the war of 1812, and 
in 181 7 w^as elected to the legislature. He was appointed one of the 
commissioners to lay out the state road from Oswego to Sacketts Harbor. 
In 1825 a Baptist society was formed, of which he was one of the trus- 
tees. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 607 

Mr. Wood married, February i. 1795, Abigail, born August 29, 
1774, daughter of Philemon Wood, and their children were: i. Victor, 
who was born December 20, 1795, was a farmer, merchant and postmas- 
ter, and held the office of justice of the peace. 2. Polly, who was born 
October 25, 1797. became the wife of Oliver Batchellor, a blacksmith of 
Woodville ; he was a famous workman, and constructed the iron doors 
of the Jefiferson county bank building. 3. Jacob, who- was born August 
26, 1799, married Lydia Leffingwell, and died at the age of twenty-four. 
4. Abigail, who was born September 25, 1802, became the wife of Carr 
G. Rounds, a farmer and mechanic, and died at Woodville. 5. Ebenezer, 
who was born November 2, 181 1, was a farmer and married Lamyra 
Eastman ; they had three children who grew up ; Jacob Harley, who lives 
at Woodville; Abigail, who married Kendrick Littlefield, and died near 
Brookfield, Missouri; and Loretta, who lives with Jacob H. 6. Harri- 
son, who was born January 9, 1814, married Fidelia Converse, and was 
tiie father of eight children : he spent his life on the farm now owned by 
his son Frank Arthur Wood. 7. Nathaniel, mentioned at length here- 
inafter. Mrs. Wood, the mother of these children, died April 8, 1842, 
and shorily after Mr. Wood married Sarah Lyon, who died May 20, 
1858. Mr. Wood himself died August 20, 1858, in the home now occu- 
pied by his grandchildren. 

Nathaniel Wood, son of Ebenezer and Abigail (Wood) Wood, was 
born June 22, 1816, and was reared upon his father's farm. He was 
born in the house built in 1810, and subsequently built two houses on 
the site, the latter being the property of N. Wood & Sons and now occu- 
pied by his elder son. He was a pioneer in the dairy business, begins 
ning on a large scale m 1850, and was interested in the first cheese fac- 
tory in his neighborhood, in 1864. He was prominent in the local 
church, and helped build two houses of worship. Both he and his father 
were among the most active opponents of slavery, and he was one of the 
first supporters of the Republican party. He did not seek for office, but 
was firm and outspoken in expression, and had great influence in shaping 
public opinion. He was twice married. His first wife was Phoebe 
Doane, who was born December 2, 1818, and whom he married Decem- 
ber 14, 1837. She died in June, 1841, and Mr. Wood married, June 12, 
1842, Flora Jane, born April 20, 1823, in Middletown, Vermont, daugh- 
ter of Milton and Amelia (Willard) Clark. The former was a farmer, 
who came to Ellisburgh with his family in 1842. Mr. and Mrs. Wood 



608 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

were the parents of two sons : George Milton, mentioned at length here- 
niafter, and Nathaniel. 

George Milton Wood, son of Nathaniel and Flora Jane (Clark) 
Wood, was bom May 22, 1843, ^"^ received his primary education in 
the common schools, afterward attending Union Academy, Belleville. 
Subsequently he studied with Professor D. W. Fisk of Syracuse. At an 
early age he was employed as clerk in a store at Woodville, and since 
attaining his majority has been continuously in mercantile life. At the 
beginning of his career he w-as for three years in business with his uncle, 
John B. Clark, and in 1867 became a member of the firm of N. Wood 
& Son, which continued the large genei-al store. The firm owns and 
operates a planing mill, is extensively engaged in manufacturing and 
also conducted a flourishing building business, and, since 1870, has been 
known as N. Woods & Sons. Mr. Wood is largely interested in the 
lumber business and owns, in connection with his brother, over one 
thousand eight hundred acres of land in various farms. He is one of the 
directors of the Farmers' National Bank of Adams, and has served as a 
trustee of Union Academy. 

Of Mr. Wood's character and reputation as a citizen it is almost 
needless to speak. At the age of twenty-one he was appointed postmas- 
ter, and with the exception of three years has held the office ever since. 
Such a rcord requires no comment. He is a member of the Belleville 
Grange. He and all his family are active members of the Congrega- 
tional church of Woodville. 

Mr. Wood married February 7, 1867, Frances, daughter of Cyrus 
and Pamclia (Goodenough) Littlefield, and they have two children: 
Fannie, who was born July i, 1869, attended Belleville Academy, and 
schools at Mount Holyoke and Boston, and is now a teacher of elocu- 
tion in St. Louis, Missouri, and George M.. Jr., w^io was born Novem- 
ber 24, 1880, graduated at Union Academy, studied French and Italian 
abroad, and took a course at the State University in Switzerland, and 
graduated at Cornell University in 1903. He is interested in the firm 
of N. Wood & Sons. He was married June 30, 1904, to Emily Jane 
Metcalf, of Ellis Village, daughter of Frank and Elizabeth (Hawley) 
Metcalf. 

Nathaniel Wood, second son of Nathaniel and Flora J. Wood, was 
born November 6, 1846. He was educated at Union Academy and in 
Syracuse, and was one of the first students of Cornell University. He has 
been for thirty-four years in business as a member of the firm of N. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 609 

Wood & Sons. He is also a memljer of the Grange. He married, No- 
vember 6, 1872, Myra_, daughter of Samuel J. and Anna (Williamson) 
Williamson. Mrs. Wood died November 25, 1876. and on September 
3, 1885. Mr. Wood married Mary Ensworth Eaton. They ha\e one son, 
Nathaniel Eaton, who was born August 17, 1887. Mr. and Mrs. Wood 
and their son are active members of the Congregational church, of 
which he has been long a deacon. For nearly forty years he has been 
secretary and treasurer of the Sunday school. While not an acti\'e par- 
tisan, he is a sound Republican in politics. 

Mrs. Wood is a direct descendant of Roger Williams, founder of 
the first Rhode Island colony, and a great-grandaughter of Governor 
Owen of that stale. Her parents were Samuel E. and Laura (Owen) 
Eaton. The former was a cloth, manufacturer of Coventry, Connecticut, 
where his daughter, Mary Ensworth, was born. She is a graduate of a 
young ladies' seminary at Hamilton, New York, and of the State Nor- 
mal school of Rhode Island. She taught ten years at Oakland, in that 
state, and was subsequently a teacher in the high school at Greeley, Col- 
orado. 

SIMEON TITUS WOOD, a life-long and honored resident of 
Woodville, traces his descent from the Rev. Nathaniel W'ood, who was 
an earnest and devout clergyman in Connecticut during the revolution- 
ary period of our history (See G. M. Wood). He was the father of sev- 
eral sons, one of whom, Ephraim, born in 1755, was one of the pioneers 
of Jefferson county. In the spring of 1S04 he settled in the town of 
Ellisburgh, where his brothers settled in the previous year. They were 
followed the same year by their father, who was then advanced in life. 
Th.e village of Woodville was named in honor of the family. Ephraim 
Wood married in 1779 Esther Eastman, who Ijore him three sons and 
eight daughters. 

Amos E. Wood, son of Ephraim and Esther (Eastman) Wood, was 
born in T790, and was a farmer who practiced, in connection with his 
agricultural labors, the trade of a shoemaker, and was also a tanner and 
currier. He served as a soldier during the war of 1812, and was a pen- 
sioner of that war. He took an active part in local affairs, and held 
various township offices, serving for many years as justice of the peace. 
He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, and in politics was a Demo- 
crat. He married, in 1819, Hannah, daughter of Samuel and Rachel 
(Chamberlain) Dean, and they were the parents of the following chil- 



610 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

dren : Elvira O.. who married Edwin R. Finn, a merchant and farmer 
who died in California; Simeon Titus, mentioned at length hereinafter; 
Amos F., who is a farmer in Mason, Michigan; Marina, who is the 
widow of George A. Jenkins, a farmer of Woodville, who died in Wis- 
consin ; Marion, who became the wife of Cyrus F. Eastman ; and Mary 
E., wlio married Merritt F. Wood, of Woodville, and is now deceased. 
Mr. and Mrs. Wood were loved and esteemed during their lives, and 
mourned when they died by all who knew them. Mrs. Wood, who sur- 
vived her husband, attained to the dignity of a centenarian. 

Simeon Titus Wood, son of Amos E. and Hannah (Dean) Wood, 
was born Decem.ber 24, 182 1, in Woodville village, where he was edu- 
cated in the common schools. He was accustomed in his boyhood to 
assist in the labors of the homestead, and on reaching manhood engaged 
in the milling business, which he has always carried on, but farming has 
been the chief occupation of his life. He owned and operated a grist 
and saw mill, and for a long period carried on a flourishing trade. He 
has alwavs been active as a citizen, and has been placed by his neighbors 
in various offices of trust and responsibility, among them that of justice 
of the peace, in which he served for many years. Politically he is a Repub- 
lican. He was strongly identified with the anti-slavery cause during the 
years of struggle which preceded the civil war. 

Mr. Wood married, in 1845, Parthenia Bowe, who died in 1853. 
His second marriage occurred March 29, 1854, the bride being Lasira 
Salisbury, of Sandy Creek, Oswego county. The following children 
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Wood: i. Amos E., who was born 
March 15, 1855, married Kate Barrett and they have three sons; Leroy 
S., born March 11, 1883; Walter, born February i, 1886. and Simeon 
T.. born August 7, 1887. 2. Rose M.. who was born November 24. 
1858. and is the wife of William D. Laird, a miller and farmer. Mr. 
Laird was born yiavch 20, 1858, near Greenoch. in Scotland, and at the 
age of four years was brought by his parents to the United States. 3. Ida 
H., who was born November 6. i860, and became the wife of George E. 
Bullis, superintendent of schools in Oswego. They have two children — 
Harold E., born July 24, 1889. and Marion L.. April 13, 1893. 4- Arlie, 
who was born May 30, 1873. and is the wife of Arthur Mosser, a Pres- 
byterian clergyman of Detroit. The declining years of Mr. and Mrs. 
Wood are cheered by the love of their children and by the cordial respect 
and affection of their friends and neighbors. 

Alexander and Elizabeth (Brodie) Lan-d. parents of William D. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 611 

Laird, came to America in 1862, and settled in what is known as the 
"Scotch Settlement" in the town of Henderson, where Mr. Laird died 
in 1865, aged fifty-eight years. His widow now resides near Ball Mound. 
IllinoiSj'and celeiirated the completion of her eightieth year July 29, 1904. 
She is the mother of twel\"e children, of whom ten are now living. 

COOPER. This is a name which has been honorably borne by 
several of Jefferson county's leading citizens, and is now represented 
by the tenth generation in America, among prominent W'atertown 
families. 

(I) John Cooper, of Lynn, Massachusetts, came from England 
to New England m 1635 in the ship Hopewell. He was forty-one 
years of age at that time, and was accompanied by his wife, Wibroe, 
and children: Mary, aged thirteen; John, ten; Thomas, seven: and 
Martha, five. Mr. Cooper was from Olney, in Buckinghamshire, and 
was one of the twenty heads of families who formed the association 
for the settlement of Southampton, New York (Long Island), in 1639. 
He was made a freeman at Boston, December 6, 1636, was one of the 
elders of the church when it v.as organized at Lynn, and in 1638 he 
is recorded as ownmg two hundred acres of land in that town. In 
Burke's Armory twenty-four families of the name are mentioned as 
bearing coat-or-arms. John Cooper died in 1682. His children were: 
Mary, born in 1622; John, 1625; Thomas, 1628; Martha; Mrs. Thomas 
Topping; Mrs. John Topping and Mrs. James (or John) White — the 
Christian names of the last three being unknown. 

(II) John Cooper (2), eldest son and second child of John 
and Wibroe Cooper, was born in 1625, in England. His wife, Sarah, 
died (probably) in 1688, and he died in 1677. They had sons, Samuel, 
James and Thomas, but no record of daughters is found. 

(HI) Thomas, third son of John and Sarah Cooper, died No- 
vember 22, 1691, and, after his death, his widow Joanna married 
Lieutenant Joseph Pierson. Thomas Cooper's children were: John, 
born in 1685: Joanna, who married John Howell: and Abrahanr. 
born 1688-9. 

(IV) Abraham, youngest son of Thomas and Joanna Cooper, 
lost his first wife, Bertha, by death. January 4, 1716, at the age of 
twenty-seven years. The name of his second wife is unknown. He 
had two children. Bertha, diild of the first wife, married Nehemiah 
Sayre. 



612 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

(V) Abraham, son of Abraham (i) and his second wife, was 
born about 171 7, and married Hannah Howell (so-called in his will, 
while some of his descendants declare her name was Johanna). He 
died in 1784. His children were: John, born May 23, 1758; Abraham, 
January i, 1761 ; Gilbeit, February 26, 1753: Hannah, August, 1765 

(married Henry Rhodes); Mehetabel, February 9, 1768 (married 
Benjamin Huntting and lived in Rome, New York) ; Foster and Jane 

(supposed to be twins), September 10. 1770. 

(VI) John Cooper, eldest child of Abraham and Johanna 
Cooper, was born May 23, 1758. His wife, Susannah, daughter of 
Zebulon Howell, was born April 20, 1759, and they were married 
Aaigust 12, 1778. He died in 1821, and his wife August 8, 1846. 
Their children were born as follows: Juliana, August 4, 1779; 
Abraham, June 18, 1781 ; Cordelia, August 22, 1783; Sophia, Sep- 
tember 12, 1785; Hannah, November 5, 1787; Zebulon, in 1792. The 
last-named lived in Utica, New York. The first three were born in 
Southampton, after which Mr. Cooper moved with his family to Mont- 
gomery, Orange county. New York, where he resided for several years, 
during \\hich time the others were born. He removed again to Utica 
(about 1795) and, about 1818, to Ox Bow, in this county, where he 
remained until his death. His wife also died at Ox Bow, whither they 
removed to be with their children. 

(VH) ABRAHAM COOPER, eldest son and second child of 
John and Susannah, w^as characterized by a kindly and generous dis- 
position, sterling integrity and great enterprise. He was born at 
Southampton, Long Island, June 18, 1781, and about the year 1795 
be accompanied his father's family to Utica, New York. 

He received a limited education in the common schools adjacent 
to his home, and at an early age began his active career by assisting 
his father in the business of hauling goods from the boats to the stores. 
This was severe labor for so young a lad, but, being naturally of an 
industrious temperament, he persevered and finally succeeded beyond 
his expectations in his new vocation. While thus engaged he took a 
trip with his team to the Genesee country, as it was called in 1796, and 
in what is now the city of Auburn there was but one house, a log one. 
On his return he stopped at Salina for a load of salt; there w^as an 
old man there with three kettles, boiling salt, and that was the nucleus 
of the now celebrated "Salt Point" salt works. Subsequently he ac- 
cepted a position in the store of Byron Johnson, and by his industry. 




^ 




<^^ 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 613 

faithfulness and capability won for himself an excellent reputation. At 
the age of twenty-nine, by the advice of his patron and old employer, 
he commenced busmess for himself on June 14, 1810, at Trenton, New- 
York. His stock of goods was furnished mostly by Mr. Johnson on 
credit, but as his business increased steadily in volume and importance 
from year to year, he was enabled to repay his benefactor for his man)' 
acts of kmdness, and in due course of time he became the proprietor of 
one of the largest and most successful mercantile establishments in that 
section of the state. He also owned and managed a large farm there, 
and was possessed of considerable capital when he came to Jeffersori 
county. In 1S18 he removed to the present site of Ox Bow. in the 
town of Antwerp, where he established a store and land office, ha\ing 
previously purchased a large tract of land in that vicinity. He con 
tinned in business there, as a merchant, until 1847, when he sold the 
store to his son, and thereafter found sufficient occupation in the care 
of his landed interests. After a long and eminently useful life, Air. 
Cooper died February 7, 186 1. 

His first wife, Suzannah. was a daughter (it is supposed) of 
Stephen Howell, and was the mother of his first three children. His 
second wife, Harriet, was a daughter of Phineas Howell, and bore him 
four children. The names of the seven here follow: Emeline C, 
Abraham, Howell, George, Nicoll J., John J. and Elias F., all of whom 
attained years of maturity and became useful members of society. 

(VIH) HOWELL COOPER was during a long and exceed- 
ingly active life one of the foremost citizens of Watertown, to whose 
prosperity, development and prestige he contributed in marked degree. 

He was born in Trenton, New York, in 1815, but was reared in 
Jefferson county, whither his father, Abraham Cooper, removed, locat- 
ing at Ox Bow, when the son was but three years of age. Having 
acquired such education as the neighborhood schools would afford, 
Howell Cooper, when nineteen, became his father's associate in a mer- 
cantile business at L^tica, with which was connected a branch store 
at Hammond, in St. Lawrence county. Father and son were thus 
related in business for a period of five years, during which time the 
latter, in his frequent business visits to Watertown, made the acquaint- 
ance of the late Norris M. Woodruff, and of his daughter. Miss Lois P. 
Woodruff, to whom he was united in marriage, September 21, 1839. 
This happy event wrought an entire change in Mr. Cooper's life plans, 
and he abandoned his intention of embarking in business in L'tica, to 



tiU GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

accept a proposal to remain in Watertown and enter into partnership 
with liis father-in-law in the hardware business. 

While industriously devoting himself to the interests of the busi- 
ness to which he was thus introduced, and which was largely extended 
through his diligence and enterprise, Mr. Cooper was at the same time 
drawn into intimate relations with Mr. Woodruff's personal concerns, 
and became his active assistant in the advancement of the many pur- 
poses which found their consummation in the larger upbuilding of the 
city of Watertown, and the promotion of the various movements which 
contributed thereto. However, this pleasant relationship was not to 
be of long continuance, being terminated by the death of Mr. Wood- 
rufif in 1857. The name of Woodrufif is commemorated in that of the 
Woodruff House, erected through the enterprise of him whose name 
it bears. It is also a reminder of Mr. Cooper, who gave careful super- 
mtendencc to its building, as he also did to that of the Iron Block. 

Mr. Cooper continued in the hardware business after the death of 
Mr. Woodrufif, and soon associated with himself his brother, Elias F. 
Cooper, in the firm of H. & E. F. Cooper, which was destined to con- 
tinue a successful and honorable career for nearly a quarter of a cen- 
tury. During this time Mr. Cooper brought to the farming community 
and particularly to dairymen various devices and services which con- 
tributed largely to the importance and utility of these interests. In 
i860 he began the manufacture and sale of a cheese vat and heater, 
for which he was granted a patent. These inventions found immediate 
approval, and they came into general use not only in the state of New 
York but throughout the dairy regions of the entire east. Mr. Cooper 
also conducted a dairymen's furnishing goods department, which com- 
manded a large patronage, many dairymen coming considerable dis- 
tances to lay in all needful in that line. He was also a large dealer 
in farm and garden seeds. One of his largest enterprises was the manu- 
facturing of the well known Buckeye Mower, which he began in 1864, 
and of which he produced as many as four hundred a year for several 
years. 

In his relations to the community at large Mr. Cooper was ever 
the model citizen, devoting himself unselfishly to the service of the 
whole people, introducing new movements for their advantage along 
industrial and moral lines, and thus contributing to every worthy cause. 
He was a principal promoter of the Potsdam & Watertown Railroad, 
which, v^ilile of public importance, was considerably detrimental to 




^<^^r^A^ t^-gir/^^y' 



GENEALOGICAL AXD FAMILY HISTORY. 615 

him in a personally pecuniary way. He also contributed largely to the 
success of the Carthage Railroad, and was made one of the commis- 
sioners empowered to make the township subscription to its stock. 
Perhaps the largest single service which he rendered to his city was in 
promoting the establishment of the Watertown water works, in which 
he was a first and principal factor, and one of the incorporators of the 
company. 

Mr Cooper was in the zenith of his powers and usefulness when 
in July, 1870, he was seized with an illness from which he died a few 
days later, July 24. Tlie sad event was entirely unexpected, and brought 
a personal sorrow to the entire community. Various meetings were 
held to pay their tribute of respect to the memory of the worthy dead— 
by the general business men in the rooms of the Young Men's Christian 
Association, by the merchants, the common council, by the directors of 
the Jefferson County National Bank and the trustees of the Jefferson 
County Savings Bank, and by the Young Men's Christian Association. 
At all these gatherings fervent evidence was borne to his high char- 
acter as a citizen and Christian gentleman. His record was without 
fault or blemish. He was the man of affairs par excellence — the master 
of every detail of plan and the inspirer of all whose aid he would invoke 
either as associate or servant. Thorough in all his work, he exacted as 
much from others, but for their own good and for that of the community 
at large, for if fault he had it was his intense public spirit which put the 
interests of the people first and his own last. In his home he was the 
ideal husband and father, and his happiest hours were those which he 
there passed, and where he forgot all anxieties and vexations in the 
sweetest companionship of his life. 

The family included eight children, six of whom grew to maturity. 
Hattie, the eldest, is the widow of Richard E. Hungerford, of Water- 
town. Charles, a mute, resides in Watertown. Irene was the wife of 
Dr. Tncld Dane, of Syracuse, and is now deceased. Addie married Dr. 
Theodore French, with whom she resides at Great Barrington, Mas- 
sachusetts. Norman died about 1894, in Watertown. Kate is the 
widow of Orville Hungerford, residing in Watertown. Two died in 
infancy. 

(Vni) NICOLL JONES COOPER, fourth son and fifth child 
of Abraham Cooper and second son of his second wife, Harriet Howell, 
was born December -'3. 1818, at Ox Bow. in the town of Antwerp, 
this county, being the first wliite child Lorn on the site of the present 



610 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

\illag'e bearing that name. He receix'ed an excellent education for his 
time, beginning in the local district school and finishing at Fairfield 
Seminary, being some time a student at the public schools at Ogdens- 
Inirg. In vacations and after school at night, when at home, he was 
busy in assisting his father about the store and upon the large estate, 
thus becoming early accustomed to the transaction of business and 
dealing with all classes of people. After leaving school he continued 
to be the invaluable aid of his father, whom he ultimately succeeded 
in business. In March, 1847, l^c became the owner of the store, by 
purchase, and continued successfully in its conduct until 1879, when 
he disposed of his mercantile interests. The building in which the 
store was located is still a part of his estate, and its use for a store has 
never been discontinued. He had charge of his father's farming lands 
for man\ years, and was administrator of the estate after the father's 
death. He was eminently successful, both as a farmer and a merchant, 
and handled lands with profit. He passed away at his home at Ox Bow, 
February 21,, 1896. 

Mr. Cooper was baptized in the Protestant Episcopal church. 
There being no society near him after his removal to Ox Bow, he 
attended and supported the Presbyterian church, and was a contributor 
to all churches in his neighborhood. A thorough Christian, he de- 
sired to promote the welfare of his fellows, and was ever ready to 
foster any elevating influence. He was not allied with any fraternal 
societies, but practiced the virtues inculcated in them, and enjoyed the 
friendship and highest respect of a wide circle of acquaintances. Be- 
cause of business demands, he felt that he could not afiford to assume 
the responsibilities of public office, but was earnest in support of his 
principles, acting many years with the Democratic party, and with the 
Piohibitionists during his last years. A strictly moral man in every 
relation of life, he sought to keep temptation from the weak and those 
who were viciously inclined. He was especially sympathetic and kind 
in dealing with the poor. The esteem in which he was held is indi- 
cated by the fad that he was often chosen to administer estates and as 
guardian of orphan children. He had most remarkable mathematical 
gifts, and was often called upon to straighten out problems for stu- 
dents and teachers of his section. 

Mr. Cooper was married. September 17, 1846, to Miss Nancy 
Hinsdale, who was born June 30, 1823, at Ox Bow, daughter of Ira 
and Hannah (Stephens) Hinsdale (see Hinsdale. VI). Two children 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 617 

were born to Mr. and Mrs. Cooper, namely: Chauncey Hinsdale and 
Ida Elizabeth. The latter died at the age of two years, and the former 
lived to he twenty-four and one-half years of age, a most competent 
and promising young man. He died in Louisiana, where he had a 
large plantation, and most flattering business prospects. 

HINSDALE. This name was brought to America from Eng- 
land, and its representatives have been prominent and have given names 
to townships in several states. The descendants have filled honorable 
places in the social and business life of Jefiferson county, and have kept 
untarnished the name bequeathed by worthy ancestors. 

(I) Robert Hinsdale, the pioneer American ancestor, is first found 
of record as one of the founders of the first church at Dedham, Mas- 
sachusetts, November 8, 1638. He was made a freeman March 13th 
of the following year, and was a member of the artillery in 1645. His 
wife, Ann, surname supposed to be Woodward, died in middle life. He 
moved to Medfield, where he was active in forming a church, as early as 
1672. Subsequently he lived some years at Hadley. Massachusetts. 
There he married his second wife, Elizabeth, widow of John Hawks. 
He moved to Deerfield, where he w-as killed by Indians while gathering 
corn in the field. At the same time his sons, Barnabas, John and Samuel, 
were slain. This occurred on the memorable date of the battle of 
Bloody Brook, September tS, 1675, where the flower of Essex was 
massacred by the red men. His widow subsequently married Thomas 
Dibble. Robert Hinsdale's children were: Elizabeth, Barnabas, Samuel, 
Gamaliel, Mary, Experience, John and Ephraim. 

(II) Barnabas, eldest son and second child of Robert Hinsdale, 
was born November 13, 1639, in Dedham. He was married October 
15, 1666, in Hadley, to Sarah White Taylor, daughter of Elder John 
and Mary White, of Hartford, and widow of Stephen Taylor. He 
had five children. 

(III) Isaac, fourth child of Barnabas Hinsdale, was born Sep- 
tember 15, 1673, in Hatfield. Massachusetts. He was married January 
6, 1714, to Lydia Loomis, born February 17, 1687, daughter of Joseph 
and Lvdia (Drake) Loomis (see Loomis). He lived in Hartford, 
Connecticut, and had four children. 

(IV) Jonathan, fourth child of Isaac and Lydia Hinsdale, was 
born March 17, 1724, in Hartford, and married Sarah Bernard, Decem- 
ber, 1742. She was born September 17, 1727, in Hartford. He was 



618 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

the first settler in the town of Lenox. Massachusetts, in 1750. During 
the French and Indian war he went to Salisbury, Connecticut, and re- 
turned to Lenox after that struggle was over. He died January 31, 
1811, and his wife March 4, 1791, in her sixty-fourth year. She was 
the mother of eight children. 

(V) David, second child of Jonathan and Sarah Hinsdale, was 
born June 30, 1754, in Salsbury, and married Farazina Bemus, who 
was born March 24, 1753. They lived at Lenox and in Galway and 
Pompey, New York. He was a farmer, and his farm in Pompey is 
still in possession of his descendants. His family included twelve 
children. 

(VI) Ira, eleventh child of David and Farazina Hinsdale, was 
born June 6, 1797, in Pompey, and died March 24, 1882, at Ox Bow, 
in the town of Antwerp. He was married November 4, 1818, to 
Hannah, daughter of John and Ann (Woodworth) Stephens, the last- 
named being a daughter of Abner and Hannah (Dyer) Woodworth, 
of Canaan, formerly of Norfolk, Connecticut, where Hannah 
(Stephens) Hinsdale was born November 6, 1797. Family tradition 
says that John Stephens was a drummer in the Revolutionary army. 
Mrs. Hinsdale died November 26, 1879, ^^ Ox Bow. Immediately 
after his marriage Ira Hinsdale settled in the town of Antwerp, where 
he cleared up a farm, and tilled it successfully many years. By industry 
and prudence he was enabled to add to his lands until they amounted to 
five hundred acres. Late in life he rented his farm and moved to the 
village of Ox Bow, wdiere he purchased several acres of land, and occu- 
pied himself in its care until his death. He introduced Merino sheep 
in his locality, and realized a handsome profit from the sale of wool 
during and after the Civil war. He was a Universalist in religious 
belief, and an old-school Democrat in matters pertaining to public 
policy. He had five chddren. George, the eldest, is mentioned at length 
in later paragraphs. Elizabeth married Elial Gilbert Wait, lived on a 
farm and in a hotel at Ox Bow, and died at Theresa, while visiting a 
niece there. Nancy is the widow of Nicoll J. Cooper, residing in Ox 
Bow (see Cooper). David Schuyler died at Ox Bow in 1872. Helen 
m.arried Moses Rich, of Richville, St. Lawrence county, whom she sur- 
vives and now resides in Chicago. 

(VII) George, eldest child of Ira and Hannah Hinsdale, was 
born November 11, 1819, in Antwerp. He bought a farm adjoining 
that of his father, which he tilled ten years and then sold, and pur- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. <''19 

chased a hotel at Rensselaer Falls, St. Lawrence county, which he kept 
a few years. This he sold and bought a farm in that vicinity. He was 
injured by a falling tree, and died from the effects of this mishap a 
week later, February 21, 1859, in his fortieth year. He married Harriet 

A. Hamlin, October 26, 1843 (see Hamlin), and they had three children, 
Ira Cassius, the first of these, is a merchant in Antwerp village. Flor- 
ence, born August 8, 1848, was married January 2, 1877, to Alexander 

B. Clark, a merchant of Ox Bow (see Clark). George J. is a merchant 
at Rensselaer Falls. 

PHILIP MILLARD. In a list of those citizens of Ellisburgh who 
are respected alike for sound ability and strict adherence to principle at 
whatever cost, the name of Philip Millard would stand very high. On 
the paternal side he traces his descent from Huguenots, who found a 
refuge from religious persecution in the new world, while through his 
mother he is of English ancestry, and belongs to the family from which 
sprang Wendell Phillips, the renowned champion of freedom for the slave. 

Gardner Millard was born November 10, 1797, in Rehoboth, Mass- 
achusetts, and about 1818 moved to Genesee county, New York, and the 
following year came to Ellisburgh. His trade was that of a general ma- 
son. He was unswerving in his devotion to what he deemed right, giving 
proof of this by identifying himself with the anti-slavery cause at a time 
when to do so required no small degree of moral courage. He married 
July 24, 1817, Lavina, born January 21, 1798, daughter of Abizer and 
Chloe (Chase) Phillips, natives of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, where their 
children were born. Mr. Phillips was a farmer and shoemaker, and dur- 
ing the war of the revolution served in the patriot army. Mr. and Mrs. 
Phillips moved to Ellisburgh about the same time that Mr. and Mrs. Mil- 
lard made their home there. They settled at Mannsville, where they 
passed the remainder of their lives. The death of Mrs. Phillips occurred 
in 1844, when she was eighty-four years old, and Mr. Phillips expired in 
1856, having attained the remarkable age of ninety-six years. 

Mr. and Mrs. Millard were the parents of the following children : 
Nathan T., born July 24, 1819, was a physician in Princeton, Wisconsin, 
and died April 4, 1897 ; Alpheus A., born December 7, 1821. was a farmer 
near Mannsville, and died April 27, 1883; Gardner J., born February 18, 
1823, was a butcher and hotel keeper at Mannsville, and died September 
I, 1874. Abizer P., born October 15, 1825, and is now living as a farmer 
in Ellisburgh; Merrill M., born April 26, 1827, was a mercantile clerk in 



620 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Watertown, where he was also employed in the county clerk's office, and 
died December 22, 1850; Alphonso, born January 18, 183 1, and is now a 
farmer in EUisburgh ; Henry A., born August 21, 1833, and died April 
3, 1850; Philip, mentioned at length hereinafter; Alfred L., born June 
20, 1837, was a merchant in EUisburgh, and died Novemlser 16, 1899; 
Ellen E., born April 27, 1841, and died September 12. i860. Mr. and 
Mrs. Millard, the parents of these children, died in EUisburgh, deeply re- 
gretted by the many friends by whom they were sincerely loved and re- 
spected. 

Philip Millard, son of Gardner and Lavina (Phillips) Millard, was 
born April 20, 1835. m the town of EUisburgh, where he was educated 
in the common schools. He learned the tinsmith's trade in Mannsville, 
after which he spent four years in the west. In 1859 he returned to 
EUisburgh and formed a partnership with his brother Alfred L., under 
the firm name of P. & A. L. Millard. As hardware and tin merchants 
in the village of EUisburgh they were ver\- successful, reaping financial 
profits and at the same time establishing a high reputation for integrity. 
In 1884 they were able to retire from business. Mr. Millard is entitled 
to the honorable distinction of having worked side by side with his father 
in the anti-slavery cause. He formerly affiliated with the I. O. O. F. and 
is a member of the Lincoln League, of Watertown. His political princi- 
ples are those ad\'0cated and upheld by the Republican party, in which he 
is an active worker, and he has served for many years as one of the town 
committee. 

Mr. Millard married July 2, 1872, Helen M. Kibling, who was born 
April 16. 1842, in EUisburgh. Mrs. Millard is a member of the Protest- 
ant Episcopal church. 

The Kibling family is of New England origin. John Kibling, a na- 
ti\e of Chester, Vermont, came to EUisburgh among the pioneers. He 
married at Chester, Vermont, Hannah Field, who belonged to the family 
of which Cyrus W. Field was an honored member. Their son, Stillman 
Kibling, was born May 2, 1802, in Chester, Vermont, and was a boy at 
the time the family moved to EUisburgh. His life was spent in agricult- 
ural pursuits, and he was the owner of a farm of two hundred acres sit- 
uated near EUisburgh village. He married Eliza Boit, who was born 
March 22, 181 1, in Springfield, Massachusetts. Her family was among 
the first settlers in EUisburgh. Mr. and Mrs. Kibling were the parents 
of a daughter, Helen M., mentioned above as the wife of Philip Millard. 
Mr. Kibling died June 19, 189 1, at the advanced age of eighty-nine. He 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 621 

is remembered with gratitude among those who contributed largely to the 
upbuilding and prosperity of the town. Both he and his wife were per- 
sonally much loved and esteemed. The latter died July 26, 1880. 

DR. WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON SIAS, of Ellisburgh, 
kr.own throughout Jefferson county as an enlightened and conscientious 
physician, belongs to a family of French origin. His great-grandfather 
was a Huguenof who left his native land and came to the American col- 
onies in quest of religious liberty. He found a home in Vermont, where 
his son filled the office of high sheriff of the county. 

Jeremiiah Sias, son of High Sheriff Sias, was born in 1796 in Ver- 
mont, whence he emigrated at the age of eighteen to Jefferson county, 
New York. He was accompanied by Jeremiah Parker, the two making 
the journey on foot in the winter, and crossing Lake Champlain on the 
ice. Jeremiah Sias was a carpenter, and was extensively engaged in the 
building business, erecting many houses and barns in Jefferson county, 
where he spent the most of his life, residing in Henderson and Ellisburgh. 
At one time he passed several years in Farmington, Wisconsin, where he 
filled the office of collector of his town. In politics he was a Whig, but 
was among the first to join the ranks of the Republican party. In Hen- 
derson, Jefferson county, as well as in Wisconsin, he held the office of 
collector of his town. In. religion he was a Swedenborgian, wrote much 
for the Swedenborgian papers, and lectured frequently on theology. He 
was four times married, and was the father of fourteen children. One of 
his wives was Mary Chapman, who was born in England, and when an 
infant was brought to the LInitcd States by her parents. By her marriage 
with Mr. Sias she was the mother of a son, William H. H., mentioned 
at length hereinafter. The death of Mr. Sias occurred in the autumn of 
1S78, when he had reached the age of eighty-two. 

William H. H. Sias, son of Jeremiah and Mary (Chapman) Sias, 
was born September 11, 1840, in Henderson, where he received his pre- 
liminary education in the common schools, afterward taking a four 
years' course at Belleville LTnion .Academy. He taught several years in 
some of the best schools of the county, among tliem those of Henderson 
and ElHsburgh, and served three years as school commissioner of Jeffer- 
son county. He studied medicine three years with Dr. E. R. Maxon, one 
of the best physicians of northern New York, and took a two years' 
course in Syracuse Medical University. Later he spent one year in the 
University Medical College of New York city, from which he received 



6^2 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

in 1882 Hie degree of Doctor of Medicine. He settled in Ellisburgli. 
where lie has been for many years in the possession of a successful and 
lucrative practice. September 14, 1897, ^^ was appointed acting assist- 
ant surgeon in the United States Marine Hospital servi(?e. He is now 
.serving his fourth term as coroner, and has been a notary public many 
years. He is a member of the Jefiferson County Medical Society, and be- 
longs to the order of Modern ^^'oodme^. In politics he is a Republican, 
and takes an active part in the affairs of the organization. 

Dr. Sias married, August 28, 1866, Melissa R. Tifft, who was born 
May 10. 1841, in Ellisburgh. Five children have been born to Dr. and 
Mrs. Sias: i. Henry H., July 11, 1867, w'ho taught school several 
terms, and is now engaged in the clothing business with J. H. Gilbert, of 
Adams: in 1890 he married Mary Hudson, of Ellisburgh. 2. Florence 
R., born February 11, 1870, died December 28, 1881. 3. Hattie May, 
born May 22, 1873; she was educated at Hungerford Collegiate 
Institute ; after teaching several years she took a three years' course at 
St. Lawrence University, theological department, and after graduating 
was ordained as a Universalist minister; she was married October 28, 
1897, to Dr. Stanly R. Hi!itchings, of Springfield, Ohio, w'here she re- 
sides. 4. George W., born January 15, 1875; after teaching for a time 
he entered the theological department of St. Law-rence University, from 
which he graduated, and was then ordained as a Universalist minister, 
becoming pastor of the First Universalist church in Springfield, Ohio: 
he married, August 19, 1897, Christiana S. Brown, of Watertown, and is 
now pastor of a church at Newport, Herkimer county. New York. 5. 
Walter E., born Dtecember 23, 1882, now engaged in teaching. All these 
children were born in Henderson, with the exception of the youngest, 
whose birthplace was Ellisburgh. 

The Tifift family is of revolutionary fame. Caleb Tifft, of Rhode 
Island, ha\-ing served in the patriot army. He was an early resident of 
Lorraine, this county. His son, Thomas W., who w-as tern in the East, 
and came early to Lorraine township, was a farmer and carpenter. He 
was a soldier in the war of 1812, and served at Sacketts Harbor with the 
rank of captain. During the remainder of his life he drew- a i^ension. 
He married Luzina H., daughter of Thomas W. Worden. who with his 
wife was a native of Colerain, Massachusetts. They came as pioneers to 
Jefferson county. Mr. Worden was also a revolutionary soldier. He 
and his wife both lived to the age of ninety-five, and are buried in the 
cemetery at Pierrepont Manor. Mr. and Mrs. Tifft wtrt the parents of 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 623 

a daughter, iMelissa R.. who became the wife of Dr. WilHam H. H. Sias, 
as mentioned above. 

DR. ELBRIDGE GERRY MINAR, a practicing physician of 
Mannsville, New York, is a native of the state, born in Elhsburgh, July 
23, 1859, son of Captain John Minar and Betsey R. Blount. 

He is a descendant of an ancient and widespread family whose name 
variously appears as Miner, Minor, Minar and Minard. His American 
ancestor was John Minar, born April 11, 1780, died October 28, 1845. 
John Minar took to wife Catherine Colon, who was a lineal descendant 
of Dominie Bogardus and Anneke Jans, a princess, and granddaughter 
of William HI. of Holland. To Dominie Bogardus was born a son Wil- 
liam, William was father of a daughter Annette, who became the wife 
of Jacob Bower. 'Jlieir daughter, Anna Elizabeth Bower, became the 
wife of Jacob Ouackenbos. whose son Ryemier, married Catherine Wal- 
den. They had a son Peter, who married Lytic Marsenas, of Schenectady, 
New York, November i, 1701, whose son married Anna Scott, May 10, 
1723. John Quackenbos, son of the marriage last named, was grand- 
father of Catherine Colon. 

John Minar, Sr., and his wife, Catherine (Colon) Minar, were the 
parents of the following named children: i. Christian, born December 
16, 1803, died September 16, 1804. 2. Henry, bom April 11, 1806. 
3. John, February 15, 181 1. 4. Ann Eliza, March 22, 1813. 5. Abra- 
ham, May 7, 1815. 6. Lydia. April i, 1818. 7. Lyman. February ig, 
1822. 8. Catherine, June 16, 1825. 9. Norman, June 11, 1830, 
drowned November 21, 1846. 

Captain John Minar, son of John and Catherine (Colon) Minar, 
was born in Schenectady, New York. He became a sailor, as did his 
brothers, William, Abraham and Lyman, while two, ^Villiam and Henry, 
were farmers. Of those of the family who followed the sea the "Jeffer- 
son County Journal" said : "The Minars are types of the old Norse Vik- 
ings, ("aptain John Minar has been up and down this chain of lakes for 
forty years, rising from cabin boy to commander and owner of fleets." 
It was said of him in his youth that on the steamer "St. Lawrence" he 
did the work and received the pay of three men. Physicallv he was 
almost a Hercules, weighing two hundred and fort}- or fifty pounds, }'et 
being so admirably proportioned that although he seemed muscular he 
did not a]3i)ear unduh- large. In his young manhood he Ijecame master 
of the schconer "Lucinda," under F. G. Merrick, wlio was then also 



624 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

associated with James Smith. Later, as part owner, he comnianded the 
"Adriatic," "Pathfinder," and a number of others. The "Montana," "M. 
I. Wilcox" and "Ganges" were stanch schooners of the noted "Reindeer 
Fleet" which he was instrumental in having built. He was a fearless 
sailor, and underwent experiences which were calculated to test the metal 
of the best of his calling, but was never known to be worsted. He out- 
sailed many severe stonns, and on more than one occasion brought his 
vessel safely into port when many about went down with all on board. 
He was of sturdy, manly character and of a deeply religious nature, and 
exerised a most salutary influence upon the rough characters who formed 
the major part of the crews he was called to deal with. 

Cajitain Minar married Betsey R. Blount. She was a frail woman 
physically, but as fearless a seaman as himself, and she frequently shared 
his perils. She was aboard the ".\driatic" with him in 1856 during a ter- 
rible storm in which many vessels foundered and scores of lives were lost. 
When their situation seemed hopeless. Captain Minar said to her: "I 
would give all I am worth in this world if you and Fannie (their child) 
were only on shore." "Well, I wouldn't have you give it," was the brave 
answer, "for if you go to the bottom of the lake, I want to go with you." 
The devoted wife died May 16, i860, aged thirty-five years and four 
months. She bore to her husband five children: i. Alice S., born May 
12. 1849, died September 12, 1850. 2. Ella Cornelia, born November 
23. 1850. died July i, 1851. 3. Fannie R., born June 22, 1852. 4. Wal- 
ter J., born September 4, married Jennie Hundley, February 11, 1875. 
5. Elbridge Gerry, born July 23, 1859. On February 9, 1865, Captain 
Minar married Mary Myres Fiske. On April 2, 1898, in the eighty- 
eighth year of his age. Captain Minar passed away. His daughter (Mrs. 
Ford) characterized the last rites as "a sweet, impressive. Christian 
burial. There was no undue sorrov/, for loving faith could see bevond 
the grave and picture the joyous reunion with many loved ones." 

Elbridge Gerry Minar, son of Captain John and Betsey R. (Blount) 
Minar, was educated at Adams, New York, in the Hungerford Collegiate 
Institute. He studied for his profession in the medical department of the 
University of the City of New York, from which he was graduated in 
1883. He first engaged in practice in Bay City, Michigan, where he re- 
mained for a period of thirteen years. In 1896 he located in Mannsville, 
New York, where he has resided continuously to the present time. He 
stands well in his profession, and is a member of the Jefferson County 
Medical Society and the New York State Medical Association. He mar- 
ried Miss Myra Converse, July 23, 1884. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 625 

MRS. J. WALLACE FORD, well known throughout tlie United 
States for her efficient and successful labor in behalf of Sunday school 
instruction, is a daughter of John Minar, Jr., and Betsey R. Blount. 

Her maiden name was Fannie R. Minar, and she was born June 22, 
1852, at Mannsville, New York. She received her education at Miss Wil- 
lard's Seminary. She was married, August 13, 1871, to the Rev. James 
Wallace Ford. D. D. Shortly after this union her health failed and her 
physician advised a change of climate. She spent several months in the 
mountain region of Georgia, the change proving so beneficial that she 
was enabled to engage in the work which she has pursued with abundant 
success. While in Georgia she made acquaintances with prominent edu- 
cators, who were so impressed with her ability that she received an invi- 
tation from the Female College of LaGrange, one of the leading educa- 
tional institutions in that state and in the entire south, to deliver semi- 
weekly lectures on Etiquette and the History of Art. This department, 
thus founded by Mrs. Ford, proved to be one of the most attractive and 
beneficial features of the college. 

About the same time Mrs. Ford's attention was directed to Sunday 
school work, and she soon became favorably known as a most capable in- 
structor in Bible history. For several years she has been industrious in 
this line, and has traveled much and in many states and territories, organ- 
izing classes of Sunday school teachers and giving them instruction. 
Mrs. Ford is recognized as a most interesting and forceful rostrum 
speaker, with a charming personality and grace of manner which attracts 
and holds her auditors, of whatever class or degree of intelligence. She 
is also an accomplished writer, and her productions in various leading 
magazines and periodicals have attracted wide and favorable attention. 

James Wallace Ford, who became the husband of the gifted woman 
above named, was born June 24, 1S47. He was educated in the common 
schools and an academy m Hamilton, New York, and studied for the 
ministry in the Rochester (New York) Theological Seminary. He was 
ordained in Mannsville, New York, in 1870, ihe year prior to his mar- 
riage. His pastoral work has been with churches in Canandaigua, New 
York ; Bay City, Michigan ; LaGrange, Georgia ; Charleston, South Caro- 
lina ; St. Louis, Missouri ; Troy, New York, and Philadelphia, Pennsyl- 
vania. While resident in LaGrange. Georgia, he received from Mercer 
University of that state the degree of Doctor of Divinity. 

To Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Ford were born three children : John Minar 
Ford, May 13, 1873, at Mannsville, New York; Marietta Holley Ford, 



626 ■ GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Decemlier 22. 1878. at Homer, Xew York, and James Wallace Ford, Jr., 
October 6, 1880, at Bay City, Michigan. 

Dr. James Wallace Ford is a lineal descendant of William Ford, a 
native of England, born in 1604, who came to America in the ship "For- 
tune" in 162 1. From him the line of descent to Dr. Ford is through Wil- 
liam Ford, Jr. (2), born in Marshfield, Massachusetts, in 1633; Joseph 
(3), born in Marshfield, in 1666: Jesse (4), one of a family of nine chil- 
dren, born in Marshfield. in 1711 : Abel B.. (5). born in 1745; Solomon 
B. (6). born in Preston Flollow, Albany county. New York: Norman 
Abel (7). father of Rev. Dr. Ford, born in 1819. 

LIVINGSTON STONE, the oldest living fish culturist in the 
United States, and now ex-United States deputy fish commissioner, 
having charge of a station at Cape Vincent, Jefferson county, has done 
as much as any other one man to promote the fish raising industry, 
Tvid in fact his efforts are of recognized value throughout the world, 
as his writings are received as authority not only in this country but 
in Europe. Mr. Stone was born October 21, 1836.- in Cambridge, 
Massachusetts, where the ancestral home of the family was established 
at an early period in the colonization of the new world. The Stones 
are of English lineage, and the founders of the family in the new world 
settled in Massachusetts within a few years after the founding of the 
Plymouth colony. 

(I) The "History of Framingham, 1640-1847'' records that 
Gregory Stone, or Ston, with his brother Simon, was one of the early 
emigrants to New England, and that they were admitted as freemen 
May 25, 1636. Gregory Stone was a deacon of the church at Cam- 
bridge, and was a representative to the council in 1638. He lived near 
Mount Auburn, and died at Cambridge. November 30. 1672, at the age 
of eighty-two years. He was married in England to Mrs. Lydia Cooper, 
a widow, who died June 2s, 1674. His children were John, Daniel, 
David. Elizabeth, Samuel and Sarah. 

(II) John, eldest child of Gregory and Lydia Stone, was born 
aboul 1619. and died May 5. 1683. at Cambridge. He was a large 
landholder and built several houses, was town clerk of Cambridge in 
1655, and representative in 1682-3. He was one of the early pro- 
prietors of Sudbury, and was elder of the church of Sudbury, being 
thereafter called Deacon Stone. He had four sons and six daughters 

nil) Daniel, third child and eldest son of John Stone, was 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 627 

married November 2, 1667. to ^lary Ward, and had two sons and six 
daughters. He was a deacon ol Sudl)ury, and selectman two years, 
1700-1. His first wife died June 10, 1703, and he was married Feb- 
ruary 8, 1704, to Abigail Wheeler, who died October 28, 171 1. He 
was married, tliird, November 18, 1712, to Ruth Haynes, of Sudbury. 
He died in 1719, aged seventy-five years, and his estate was administered 
by his son, John, the funeral charges being sixty pounds sterling. 

(IV) Daniel, eldest child of Daniel and Mary (Ward) Stone, 
was born November 22, 1668, and married Patience, daughter of Major 
Thomas Brown, of Sudbury. He served as selectman and was town 
treasurer in 1702, d}ing on December 22 of that year at the age of 
thirty-four. His estate was administered by his widow, who married 
Nathaniel Rice, antl died November 13, 1722, aged fifty-two years. 
Daniel Stone had one son and four daughters. 

(V) Micah, only son and fourth child of Daniel (2) and Patience 
Stone, was born in iMarch, 1699, and was married April 2. 1724, to 
Abigail, daughter of Samuel Stone, of Lexington. He lived on the 
island of Sudbury, and was selectman five years, beginning with 1732. 
He died of smallpox October 17, 1738, aged thirty-nine years. His 
widow married Colonel Joseph Perry, and died October 4, 1796, aged 
ninety years. Micah and Abigail Stone had six sons. One of these. 
Rev. Micah Stone, D. D., graduated from Har\-ard College in 1750, 
was tutor there in 1754, and afterward minister of Brookfield. Another. 
Eliab, graduated at Harvard in 1758. 

(VI) Daniel, second son of Micah and Abigail Stone, was born 
April II, 1727, and married Persis Haynes, of Sudbury. He was 
captain of militia, and selectman in 1767-8. He died April 3, 1813, 
aged eighty-six years, and his widow passed away May 7, 1804, aged 
seventy-six. They had three sons and two daughters. 

(VII) John, third son of Daniel and Persis Stone, was born 
February 17, 1757, and married Ann Hunt, of Sudbury, June 25, 1778. 

(VIII) Peter Robert Livingston Stone, son of John and Ann 
Stone, was born in Sudbury, or Wayland, Massachusetts, May 4. 1794. 
He acquired a common school education and became a wholesale dealer 
in West India goods in State street, Boston. He was captain of a 
company of militia, and was a member of the Ancient and Honorable 
Artillery, the oldest militia organization in the country. The epaulets 
he wore are now nearly one hundred years old, and there is also in 
existence a certificate of membership dated July 13, 18 19. His early 



628 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

political support was given the Whig party, and he afterward became 
a supporter of Republican principles. Both he and his wife were mem- 
bers of the Unitarian church. Mrs. Stone bore the maiden name of 
Lavinia Winship, and was born in Lexington, Massachusetts, on the 
22d of February, 1800. She belonged to one of the oldest and most 
honorable families of Massachusetts, and from his mother Livingston 
Stone received a silver spoon which was secreted in the woods at Lex- 
ington at the time of the opening battle of the revolutionary war which 
there occurred. 

(IX) Livingston Stone was a student in the public schools of 
Cambridge until he had completed all of the work from that of the 
primary division to that of the high school. Subsequently he entered 
Harvard College, from which he was graduated with honor in 1857. 
His alma mater has since conferred upon him the degree of Master 
of Arts. After graduating from Harvard, Mr. Stone took a three 
years' course at the Meadville Theological School, and in 1864 became 
pastor of the First Congregational (Unitarian) Church of Charlestown, 
New Hampshire. He continued four years in this position, until failing 
health compelled him to seek an outdoor life, and he entered into the 
work of fish culture, and his efforts have been a most potent factor in the 
development of the industry in the United States. In 1872 he was 
appointed United States deputy fish commissioner for the Pacific coast, 
and remained in that section of the country for twenty-five years, and 
was deputy commissioner twelve years at one point, on the McCloud 
river, in California. When he left that region the "California Stand- 
ard"' said: 

"After nearly a quarter of a century in the government service on 
this coast, Livingston Stone has probably left California permanently. 
As long ago as 1866 Mr. Stone built the trout-breeding establishment 
in New Hampshire known as the Cold Spring trout ponds, this being 
the first attempt at practical fish culture in New England and the second 
in the country. In 1868 he built and operated the first salmon-breeding 
establishment in this country, on the Miramichi river in New Bruns- 
wick. In 1872 he published "Domesticated Trout," which has passed 
through six editions, has been translated into Italian, and although 
written more than thirty years ago is still accepted as a standard author- 
ity on trout culture all over the world. 

"In the same year Mr. Stone was sent by the United States gov- 
ernment to the Pacific coast as deputy fish commissioner to select and 
operate a station for salmon breeding on a large scale, and the same 
year he located the station on the McCloud river, now known as Baird 




United States Fish Hatche 



nd Signal Station. Cape Vincent. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 631 

station of the United States fish commission. In 1S77 Mr. Stone was 
again commissioned Ijy the government tO' select a site for a sahnon- 
breeding station, this time on the Columbia, on behalf of the cannery- 
men of that river. The point selected was on the Clackamas river. 
There Mr. Stone built and operated for one year large salmon-breeding 
works, the expense being borne by the Oregon and Washington Fish 
Propagating Company. While conducting salmon breeding operations 
at Baird station the United States fish commission was desirous of 
introducing the rainbow trout into the eastern states, and, with that 
end in view, Mr. Stone was directed in 1879 to find a place on the 
McCloud river where rainbow trout eggs could be procured, and to 
conduct operations there. The place selected was four miles up the 
river from the salmon hatchery, and it is from there that all, or nearly 
all, of the rainbow trout distributed over the world have come. 

"In 1883 Mr. Stone was sent by the government to make an 
investigation along the whole course of the Columbia from its source 
to its mouth, for the puri>ose of selecting a salmon-breeding site for 
the United States fish commission of that river. In 1888 he . was 
despatched again to tiie Columbia to negotiate with the Oregon fish com- 
mission (into whose hands the Clackamas station had passed) for the 
purchase of that station by the United States. The price asked was 
ten thousand dollars, but he was fortunate enough to succeed finally 
in getting the station deeded to the United States without charge except 
for the expenses of operating and for repairs which had j'ust been 
incurred by the Oregon commission. The next year Mr. Stone accom- 
panied a government expedition to the Kodiak islands, in the North 
Pacific, where the first Alaskan gold was discovered. The object of this 
expedition was to conduct a general investigation of the salmon fisheries 
of the islands and vicinity, Mr. Stone's special department of investiga- 
tion being salmon culture. Mr. Stone reported favorably in regard 
to salmon culture on Afognac island, one of the islands of the Kodiak 
group, and the attention of President Harrison being called to the 
ma.tter, he set aside this island as a national reservation. 

"About the year 1884 arrangements were completed between the 
Chilean minister and the United States fish commission for Mr. Stone 
tc^ go to Chili to inaugurate salmon culture in that country, but just at 
that time the breaking out of hostilities between Chili and a neighbor- 
ing state brouglit the enterprise to a sudden end." 

Mr. Stone was long a friend of the renowned and eminent natural- 
ist. Professor Agassiz, to whom he furnished all the salmon specimens 
for his investigation on the subject of fishes, during several years. 
During their long acquaintance he received many complimentary and 
friendly letters from that greatest of all American naturalists, showing 
his appreciation for the fine specimens sent by \lr. Stone and com- 



632 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

mending him for his scientific attainments in fish cuhure. There is a 
trout on the Pacific slope which was named "Sahno iridea Stonei," 
in honor of Mr. Stone, by Mr. Jordan, president of Leland Stanford 
University. Besides several silver medals received by Mr. Stone in 
this country, he was awarded two diplomas at the international exposi- 
tion held at Berlin in 1880, and was one of the foitunate six persons 
in the United States who received the large gold medal of that exposi- 
tion. In 1883 he was presented with the large and handsome diploma 
signed by the Prince of Wales (now Edward VII, King of England), 
at the International Exposition in London, of which exposition Mr. 
Stone was appointed one of the judges. He was also awarded many 
years ago an honorary medal in bronze by the Societe d'Aclimatation 
of Paris. He was made an honorary member of the National t"ish 
Culture Association of Great Britain, elected July 4, 1884, and was 
made an honorary member of the Deutsche Fischerei Verein of Berlin, 
Germany, April 8, 1878. 

In 1897 Mr. Stone came to Cape Vincent, New York, where he 
is now serving as superintendent of the United States fish hatchery, 
beautifully situated at the head of the Thousand Islands, on the St. 
Lawrence river. He says this is the best water in the United States 
for hatching fish, and has here a well equipped station. In the spring 
of 1904 he deposited fourteen million white fish in Lake Ontario, and 
brook and other trout were shipped daily from the Cape Vincent Sta- 
tion. On account of the skillful methods hei'e employed, together with 
the pure water of this region, he hatches eighty-five per cent of white 
fish eggs, and rxiore than ninety per cent of trout and salmon. Nearly 
all are stripped from fish caught for the market. 

Mr. Stone finds his chief source of rest and recreation in chess 
and tennis. He was considered one of the best chess players of Cali- 
fornia, and vanquished a majority of the best players in Boston and 
New England. He is also an enthusiastic and skillful manipulator of 
the tennis racquet. He is a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon, a 
college fraternity. In politics he is a Republican, with no political 
ambitions or aspirations. On the 15th of January, 1888, through the 
influence of Seth Green, the pioneer fish culturist, of whom he was an 
intimate friend for many years, Mr. Stone was supported for the posi- 
tion of United States commissioner of fish and fisheries, at a salarv of 
five thousand dollars a year, but he refused the position. He has the 
appearance of an English gentleman, is a man of scholarlv attainments, 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 633 

and quiet, modest and unassuming in manner. He belongs to the 
Lee Street Church of Cambridge, Massachusetts. ' 

On the 8th of April, 1875, at Charlestown, New Hampshire, Mr. 
Stone was married to Rebecca SaHsbury Cushing, who received a hberal 
education in her native place. She is a daughter of Hon. Edmund 
Lambert Cushing, chief justice of the supreme court of New Hamp- 
shire. Edmund Cushing Stone, son of Mr. and Mrs. Livingston Stone, 
was born March 8, 1882, received common school training in northern 
California, and entered the high school of Cape Vincent, New York, 
in the fall of 1897. In 1900 he matriculated in Harvard College, from 
which institution he graduated in June, 1904. He is concert master 
of the Orchestra of the Pierian Sodality of Harvard University, and 
secretary of the society, and is a fine violinist and tennis player. He 
occupied a room at Cambridge which enabled him to look out upon the 
m.onument of his American progenitors, John and Gregory Stone. 
Edmund Stone is now at the Lawrence Scientific School of Harvard 
University. 

CYRUS J. SEVERANCE, M. U.. a practicing physician of Manns- 
vilie, is a native of the town of Parish, Oswego county. New York, born 
July 16, 1862. He is a scion of an old New England family, which bore 
its part in clearing the wilderness and the establishment of civilization 
upon the American continent. 

(I) John Severns came from England in the ship "Elizabeth" in 
1634, and in 1637 was one of the original proprietors of Salisbury, 
Massachusetts, where he died in 1682. His first wife, Ursula, was proba- 
bly a daughter of Richard and Ursula Kimball, of Watertown, Massa- 
chusetts. Between 1658 and 1663 he married Susannah, widow of 
Henry Ambrose. 

(H) John, son of John Seaverns (as the former wrote it in 
1685), was born in 1647 and was a resident of Suftield, Connecticut, 
February 14, 1678, among the first settlers there. About 1702 he re- 
moved to Bedford, New York, where he died in 1709. His wife's name 
was Mary. 

(HI) Joseph, son of John (2) and Mary Severance, was born Oc- 
tober 26. 1682. in Suffield, and was a tailor by occupation. His wife 
Anna, was a daughter of Martin Kellogg. 

(IV) Joseph (2), son of Joseph (i) and Anna (Kellogg) Sever- 



«34 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

ancc, was bom October 7. 1713. and was married in 17 S-- ^'^ Mary, 
daugliter (jf Joseph Clesson. 

(V) Matthew, eldest child of Joseph (2) and Mary (Clesson) Sev- 
erance, served in the French war as one of Rogers's Rangers. He was 
married in 1762 to Experience, daughter of Daniel Nash. 

(VI) Matthew (2), son of Matthew (i) and Experience (Nash) 
Severance, was born July 11, 1765, and settled in Leyden, Franklin 
county, Massachusetts, where he died in 1834. In 1786 he married Mary, 
daughter of Elisha Wells. 

(VII) Cyrus, son of Matthew (2) and Mary (Wells) Severance, 
was born November 15, 1796, in Leyden, and died March 16, 1862, in 
Mexico, while on a business trip to Mexico, Oswego county. New York. 
tie was married May 23, 1815. to Lephe Louisa Wells, who was born 
July 12, 1798. His second wife was Sarah Moore. He was the father 
of nine children. 

(VIII) Anthony P. Severance, son of Cyrus and Sev- 
erance, was born October 18, 1835, in New Haven, Oswego county, New 
York, and is a farmer. He was married, March 13, 1856, to Frances 
Rathbun, who was born January 18, 1837, in New Haven, Oswego 
county, New York. Following is a brief record of their children : Fay- 
ette G., IxDrn in 1856, is a clergyman of the Methodist church, now resid- 
ing in Hillsboro, Kansas. Charles N., born 1858, is a Congregational 
minister, located at Garden City, Kansas. Frank B., born i860, is a 
Methodist clergyman, located at Frankfort, New York. Cyrus J. is men- 
tioned at length in a following paragraph. Cynthia E., born 1867, is the 
wife of Edward E. Samuel, of Remsen, New York. Helen L., born 1875, 
is the wife of William Pritchard, of Remsen. 

Dr. Severance acquired his early education in the public schools 
of his native town, and also in Mexico Academy. After leaving school 
he was for three years clerk in a drug store at Mexico, and while thus 
employed he laid the foundation oi his medical education, both in the 
store and in study under the direction of a practicing physician. 
He then matriculated in the medical department of the University of 
the City of New York, and graduated there, M. D., in 1888. He began 
practice in Mannsville, where he has since lived in the enjoyment of a 
successful professional career and the confidence and regard of a wide 
circle of friendships. He is a member of the JelYerson County Medical 
Society and the New York State Medical Association. In fraternal cir- 
cles he is a Mason, a meml.)er of Lodge No. 234 of Adams, and an Odd 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 635 

Fellow of excellent standing, having passed all the chairs and held va- 
rious other offices of trust in that order. He also is a member of the 
Society of Maccabees, a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, and was a delegate to the general conference held at Los An- 
geles, California, in 1904. In 1904 Dr, Severance was appointed a mem- 
ber of the board of managers of the New York State Custodial Asylum at 
Rome. He is one of the directors of the Farmers" National Bank of 
Adams. 

On February 10, 1882, Dr. Severance married Hattie E. Davis, of 
Palermo, Oswego county, born there May 2, 1863, daughter of Charles 
F:. Davis, born in Ellisburgh, Jefferson county, October 17, 1837, and a 
son of Demetrius Davis, a native of Wales. Mrs. Severance's mother was 
born in Sandy Creek, Oswego county, July 15, 1839, a daughter of John 
Davis and his wife Ruth Cole, both of whom were natives of Vermont. 
Dr. and Mrs. Severance had one child, a son, who died in infancy. 

MAJOR NEWTON B. MANN, of New England Puritan ancestors 
of English origin, was an early settler in Jefferson county, New York, and 
the pretty little village of Mannsville was named in allusion to him. He 
settled in that locality about or soon after 1810, and after he had devel- 
oped a farm he built, about 1827, a woolen mill, put it in operation, and 
thus drew to the locality a considerable number of people who came to 
find work in his factory. Unfortunately, while Major Mann was on his 
way to Rome to place an insurance on his mill Ijuildings, they were de- 
stroyed by fire, and thus much of his fortune was swept away. Major 
Mann himself was a Vermonter by birth, and held a major's commission 
in the war of 1812, hence the military title by which he always after- 
ward was addressed. 

Samuel Mann was a second cousin of Major Mann, and at the lat- 
ter's request he was mduced to settle at Mannsville. He was born in 
Rochester, Vermont, and came thence to Jefferson county in 1820. He 
was a farmer, and died in February, 1837, aged thirty-two years. His 
wife, Rebecca Bulkley, was born January 3, 1803, and died February 2, 
1873. They had two children, namely : Newton Bargilia Mann, born 
in Mannsville, April 19, 1831 ; and Harriet L. Mann, born in Mannsville, 
August. 1837, married Allen Brown of Belleville, and died October 16, 
1900. 

Newton B. Mann, son of Samuel and Rebecca Mann, was appren- 
ticed to a tanner when ten years old, and afterward worked on a farm. 



636 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

He is now an extensive farmer, although a portion of his business hfe 
has been spent in other locahties and in other pursuits than agricuUure. 
For nine years he was connected with the operation of street railways, 
and for several years of that time was superintendent of the old Brook- 
lyn Central and Jamaica Street Railway. Yet, in a certain sense, Mr. 
Mann has always regarded Mannsville as his home, and his property in- 
terests there are extensive. He is a breeder of thoroughbred track horses, 
with decided inclination to preserve so far as possible the Hambletonian 
blood that the famous Rysdeck produced more than forty years ago. On 
his two hundred acre farm Mr. Mann keeps from twenty-five to fifty 
head of thoroughbred stock, and as often as he has exhibited them in 
competition so often has he been awarded first prizes. In 1881 he had 
nine horses on exhibition at the state fair at Elmira, and then was awarded 
eight first prizes and one second prize ; and in the same year at Syracuse 
he exhibited a six-horse tandem, winning the first prize, and also gaining 
two other prizes for best stallions. In fact, Mr. Mann as a horse breeder 
is known from one end of the country to the other, and his farm two 
miles south of the village of Mannsville is known far and near as the 
celebrated "Royal Stock Farm." He is a practical and successful farmer 
as well as horse breeder, and takes an interest in all matters pertaining 
to agricultural pursuits. He is a member of the county Grange, and a 
leader in its councils. He is an Odd Fellow, and an attendant at the 
Methodist Episcopal church, of which his wife is a member; and he 
has been a choir member of that church for more than forty years. 

Mr. Mann has been twice married. His first wife was Eugenia A. 
Vernon, born in Lyme, Jefiferson county, Septeml^er 20, 1845, died Feb- 
ruary 3, 1881, leaving a daughter, Grace J. Mann, born August 30, 1877. 
He married (second) May Ada Moffatt, born' in Brownville, Jefferson 
county, November 17, 1848. daughter of Reuben H. Moffatt (see Mof- 
fatt). 

ADELBERT BRUCE DEMPSTER. Among the energetic busi- 
ness men of Jefferson county must be numbered Adelbert Bruce Demp- 
ster, of Mannsville. Through his father he comes of Scotch ancestry, 
and on his mother's side is related to the family of ex-President Grover 
Cleveland. 

Bruce Dempster was born in 1794, in Glasgow, Scotland, his father 
being a wealthy man. When the father was drafted for the Britisli 
armv, Bruce, then a meie youth, took his father's place. After two 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 637 

years" service on board a man-of-war he was sent to Canada, where he 
took part in tlie war of 1S12. At Kingston, Ontario, he left the army, 
after which lie went to Sacketts Harbor and became a farmer and stone- 
mason. He was for some years in business in New York city, and also 
in Rodman, Jefferson county. He worked as a stonemason iii Water- 
town and Hounsfield, and in the latter town, in 1876, purchased a farm, 
where he passed the remainder of his life. Mr. Dempster married in 
1835 Betsy Cleveland, born in the Mohawk valley, daughter of Han,'ey 
and Lefie (Cross) Cle\^eland. (See Cleveland, VI.) The former was a 
soldier in the war of 1812, and one of the pioneers of Jefferson couniy, 
whither he came in the early part of the last century. For a number 
of years he owned and worked a sawmill in Rutland, and afterward 
moved to Hounsfield, where he passed the remainder of his life as a 
farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Dempster were the parents of the following 
children : Andrew J., who served in the Civil war and died young ; Jane 
L., who died at the age of twenty-eight; Adelbert Bruce, mentioned at 
length hereinafter ; Eugene Milton, who is unmarried and lives on the 
homestead in Hounsfield: and William Wallace, who is the proprietor 
of a hotel in Pamelia. Mr. Dempster, the father of this family, died in 
1876, at his home in Hounsfield. 

Adelbert Bruce Dempster, son of Bruce and Betsy (Cleveland) 
Dempster, was born July 14, 1849, ''nd adopted as his calling the trade 
of a carpenter, which he subsequently abandoned, feeling a preference 
for commercial life. At different times he was employed as a clerk at 
Adams and Mannsville, and for three years was in meicantile business 
for himself at Watertown. A large portion of his life has been spent 
as a farmer, and he has purchased and sold two farms, one in Rodman 
and the other at Mannsville. He is a Republican in politics. 

Mr. Dempster married, in 1875, Nellie V. Moulton, of Sandy 
Creek, and they were the parents of a son and daughter. The son, Clar- 
ence Bruce, who was born October i, 1876, was educated at Belleville 
Academy, and was for a time a teacher, after which he became a student 
at the University of Syracuse. He will devote the remainder of his life 
to teaching. He has won distinction in athletic sports, and was a mem- 
ber of the crew who won the boat race on the Hudson river in 1904. 
The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dempster, Annie Laurie, was lx)rn March 
25, 1S84, and was educated in the graded schools of Adams township 
and at Hungerford Collegiate Institute. The mother of these children 
died May 27, 1889, and Mr. Dempster married, July 22, 1891, Mary A., 



638 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

l)'irn August 6. 1867. daughter of George and Anna (Bush) Williams, 
who are natives of England and farmers at Belleville. 

DR. H.\RRISON CORBET POTTER, an able and highly re- 
spected physician of Mannsville, is the bearer of a name notable in Jeffer- 
son county, not only as that of a family of long standing and one which 
has more than once recruited the ranks of the medical profession, but 
as that of one of the most honored bishops of the Protestant Episcopal 
church. 

Peter Corbet Potter was of Massachusetts stock, his mother, whose 
name was Rising, having been a lineal descendant of one of the "May- 
flower" pilgrims. Mr. Potter was born January 22. 1824, in Paris, Oneida 
county. New York, and in early manhood was a schoolmaster, .\bout 
1844 li^ moved to Adams, Jefferson county, where he l>ecame a farmer 
and continued to follow agricultural pursuits until his retirement in. 
1898, and now resides at Sacketts Harbor. He has been for many 
years an official of the Methodist Episcopal church. He married Miss 
Spicer, by whom he was the father of one son, Herbert M., who is in 
business in Sacketts Harbor. After the death of his wife Mr. Potter 
married Lucretia Potter, and three sons were born to them : Jason G., 
who is a merchant of Miles City, Montana, and the owner of a sheep 
ranch ; Henry L., who is a farmer on the old homestead at Sacketts 
Harbor; and DeWitt C, who is a farmer in East Hounsfield. On 
being left a widower for the second time Mr. Potter married, in 1863, 
Lutheria N., born in 1828, in the town of Lorraine, daughter of Amos 
Gould. Her parents were from Needham, Massachusetts, and were 
among the pioneers of Jefferson county, where Mr. Goukl, who was 
a graduate of Amherst College, was for many years a schoolmaster. 
Mr. and Mrs. Potter were the parents of two children : Harrison C, 
mentioned at length hereinafter; and Celia Frances, who is the wife of 
Frank Dixon, a business man of Dexter. 

Harrison C. Potter, son of P. Corbet and Lutheria N. (Cliuild) 
Potter, was born December 20, 1864, in Smith\-ille, town of Adams, 
Jefferson county, and received his primary education in the district 
school of Sacketts Flarbor, afterward attending Adams Collegiate Insti- 
tute and Ives Seminary at Antwerp. The training for his chosen pro- 
fession was obtained in the medical school of the University of Buffalo, 
where he graduated May 2, 1894, with the degree of Doctor of Medi- 
cine. The same vear he went to Manns\-ille. where he has since been 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 639 

engaged in tlie active practice of his profession. The confidence with 
which Dr. Potter is regarded by his neighbors, not only as a physician 
but also as a citizen, is exemplified by the fact that in the spring of 
1904 he was elected president of the village. He is a promoter of 
everything pertaining to the welfare of the township. The village is 
indebted to him for the organization of the fire department, of which he 
was for two years chief, and his interest in educational matters is \-ery 
active. He is a member of the Jefferson County Medical Society, and 
the State Medical Society. He belongs to the I. O. O. F., and is now 
financial secretary of Mannsville Lodge, No. 175. of which he is a 
past grand. In politics he is a Republican, and is an active member 
of the party, being known throughout the county as such, and for 
eight years was chairman of the town committee. For several years 
he has attended most of the Republican conventions held in the county, 
usually as a delegate. His religious doctrines are those of the Methodist 
Episcopal denomination, and in the church which he attends he is both 
a member and an officer. 

Dr. Potter married, June 12, 1895, Rhoda F. daughter of Hon. 
H. J. Lane, of Sacketts Harbor, formerly a member of the legislature. 

HAMLIN. Like most of the New England names, this came 
from old England early in the colonial period, and has had numerous 
representatives scattered throughout the United States. 

(I) Giles Hamlin, progenitor of the American family, born in 
England about 1622, was married in 1655 to Hester, daughter of John 
Crow, of Hartford, Counecticut. She was born about 1628, probably 
in England. Mr. Hamlin was fifty years a mariner. He settled at 
Middletown, Connecticut, as early as 1654, and he and his wife were 
among the members of the first church there, established September 4. 
1688, he being admitted on the thirteenth of the same month and she 
on the thirtieth of October. His home was on the east side of Main 
street, abutting on the south side of Court street. He was a strict 
Puritan, and one of the most substantial and reliable men of the town, 
and held many offices of trust and responsibility. 

(II) William, son of Giles Hamlin, born February 3, 1668, in 
Middletown, married (May 26, 1692) Susanna, daughter of Rev. 
Nathaniel Collins and his wife, Mary Whiting, daughter of \\'illiam 
Whiting, one of the early settlers of Hartford. Rev. Nathaniel Col- 
lins was a son of Deacon Edward Collins, of Cambridge, Massachusetts. 



640 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

and graduated at Harvard College in 1660. Susanna Collins was born 
November 26, 1669. 

(III) Richard Hamlin, son of William and Susanna Hamlin, 
was born May 17, 1693. in Middletown, and was married there, No- 
vember 30, 1721, to Martha, daughter of Rev. James Smith, of Crom- 
well, Connecticut. The colonial records of May, 1736, contain this: 
"This Assembly do establish and confirm Mr. Richard Hamlin captain 
of the company or trainband at the New Field, in the town of Middle- 
town, and order that he be commissioned accordingly." He died 1765,. 
was buried June 27, 1765, at Middletown. His children, born at Mid- 
dletown, were Mary, Esther and Nathaniel. 

(IV) Captain Nathaniel, son of Richard Hamlin, was born May 
29, 1732, in Middletown. He married there, March 9, 1753, Lucretia, 
daughter of Captain Daniel and Esther (Stow) Ranney. She was born 
March 12, 1737-8, in Middletown, and died July 6, 1766. He married, 
second, March 5, 1767, Abigail Moore, and lived in Cromwell, then 
called "Middletown Upper Houses." Records show that, in October, 
1770, he was captain of the tenth company, of the sixth regiment of 
militia. On July 7, 1778, his widow was appointed administrator of his 
estate, which fixes approximately the time of his death. His estate 
was appraised at fifty-one pounds and seven shillings. There were 
six children of his first wife, and five of the second. 

(V) Daniel Ranney, eldest child of Nathaniel and Lucretia 
Hamlin, was born July 23, 1755, in Middletown (which then included 
Cromwell), Connecticut, and was married there, August i, 1779, to 
Ruth Ward. Before 1800, he moved to New Hartford (now Utica), 
New York, where he died in 1809. His children were: Ruth (died an 
infant), Ruth, John, Samuel, Horace, Ann, Lucretia and Daniel Ranney. 
He served nearly all through the Revolution, enlisting first in 1776, in 
Captain Joseph Churchill's (eighth) company, of Chatham, Connecti- 
cut, in Colonel Comfort Sage's battalion (third), of Middletown, in 
Brigadier General James Wadsworth's Connecticut Brigade. This 
battalion, raised to reinforce Washington's army, served in New York 
city and on Long Island. It was caught in the retreat from the city, 
September 15, 1776, and suffered some loss; was also at the battle of 
White Plains, October 28. The time of enlistment expired December 
25, 1776. On May 24, 1777, he was a sergeant in Colonel \\'ebb's 
Connecticut Regiment; promoted to ensign May 16, 1778; dismissed 
June, 1779. This was one of the sixteen "additional regiments," raised 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 641 

at large for the '"Connecticut Line," in 1777, to con.tinue through the 
■war, and was recruited mainly in Hartford and the eastern part of the 
colony; went into camp at Peekskill in the spring of 1777; served in 
Parsons' brigade, under General Putnam. 

(VI) Horace, son of Daniel Hamlin, was born November 10, 
1794, in Middletown, and was a captain in the war of 1812. During 
his military service, he observed the advantages afforded to enterprise 
in northern New York, and he soon settled in. the town of Antwerp. 
He died September 9, 1881, at Ox Bow. He was a blacksmith by trade, 
and operated a large shop in the village of Ox Bow, which he aided in 
-building up. He served many years as justice of the peace, and was 
highly respected as a man and citizen. He was married November 4, 
1821, to Nancy McAllaster, who was born September 26, 1802, in 
Springfield, Vermont, a daughter of Francis McAllaster, of a pioneer 
Antwerp family (see McAllaster). Nancy (McAllaster) Hamlin died 
October 4, 1890, at Ox Bow, aged eighty-eight years. Their children 
were : Harriet, mentioned below ; David, who lived and died in Ant- 
werp ; George, lived and died at Gouverneur ; Jane and Susan, married 
and died early, the former leaving a daughter, Jane (Faichney) Lockie, 
of Rossie ; Henrietta, widow of William Green, residing at Ox Bow ; 
Eugene, a soldier of the Civil war, now living at Ox BoW ; Lucretia, 
married Lowell Flill, and died at Rensselaer Falls. 

(Vn) Harriet A., daughter of Horace and Nancy Hamlin, was 
born December 21, 1822, at Ox Bow, and died there August 11. 1897. 
She was married October 26, 1843, to George Hinsdale, as elsewhere 
related (see Hinsdale). 

NORRIS M. WOODRUFF, deceased, whose business sagacity and 
enterprise were unequalled, and whose charities were numerous, but 
never ostentatious, was born in Litchfield county, Connecticut, September 
7, 1792, the eldest of three children born to Roswell and Lois (Patterson) 
Woodruff, descendants of families who were among the pioneer settlers 
of the state of Connecticut, and wjiose ancestors were of English birth. 

When about thirteen years of age Norris M. Woodruff accom- 
panied his parents to Jefferson county. New York. They located near 
Sanford's Corners, in the town of Le Ray, where they purchased a 
thousand acres of land. During the war of 1812-15 he was a member 
of a cavalry regiment, which was engaged principally in picket duty 
on the northern frontier. Shortly after attaining his majority he located 



642 GEXEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

in Watertown, before it became incorporated as a village, and estab- 
lished a tm, hardware, iron and stove business, which grew to extensive 
proportions under his careful and efficient management. His keen 
foresight led him to organize a ,system of having his teams deliver the 
goods at the homes of tlie new-comers of this then newly settled country, 
and taking in return such commodities as they produced in payment. 
This trade extended over not only all the northern counties of the state 
then settled, but took ni the \\'estern counties as far as Buffalo. In 
several instances his teams went into the state of Ohio, and made 
regular trips to much of the then settled portion of Upper Canada. 
As the new country began to develop, enlarged houses became a neces- 
sity, recjuiring hardware to enrich and complete, and new rooms to be 
furnished with modern heating apparatus to take the place of the old- 
fashioned open wood-fire and the wood cook-stove. Mr. Woodruff kept 
pace with the demand and with his characteristic enterprise supplied it. 
In order to do this, he drew upon Albany, Troy and other cities before 
the Erie Canal or railroad was built, and consequently he had to haul 
his goods by teams. He gave employment to many clerks and a great, 
number of appi entices, a large majority of whom went west and at- 
tained excellent records. He had a perfect detestation of an untruthful 
man, as he -never was known to tell a lie himself, neither would he 
prevaricate or mislead any one by his statements. He was prompt and 
thoroughgoing in his business, and required all others with whom he 
dealt to be the same. 

Having placed his business upon a money-paying basis, he turned 
his attention to acqun'ing real estate on the north side of the Public 
Square, as well as other places, until he owned about three-fourths of 
it. As the town of Watertown enlarged he made improvements on his 
property, building, iirst, the Woodruff block, of three stores, and after- 
wards the Iron block, of five stores, all in the then advanced modern 
style. He also purchased a large tract of land located in Alexandria, 
Theresa, and Antwerp, at the price of one dollar per acre, which proved 
a most profitable investment, and, in 1836, in connection with Mr. 
Stocking and John Jacob Aster, he purchased a large tract of land at 
Green Bay, Wisconsin. Some years later he disposed of his interest to 
Mr. Astor, after which he purchased quite a tract of land near Ottawa, 
Illinois, which proved a paying investment. He also purchased a large 
farm on the opposite side of the river from Watertown, where he was 
enabled to gratify his fondness for good stock, especially horses, and 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 643 

among the purchasers of the same were I\Ir. Astor and the governor- 
general of Canada. When the project or Ijuilding a raih'oad from 
Rome to Watertown and Cape Vincent was started. Mr. Woodruff 
was one of its most earnest advocates, and at once contributed his 
full share of money for that purpose. He was elected among the first 
directors of the enterprise, and it is no injustice to other parties to say 
that without his money and influence, together with that of Orville 
Hungerford, the road would not have been built when it was, or for 
many years after. They not only subscribed liberally to the stock, but 
gave with others indorsement to notes to carry the work through to 
completion. After the railroad was secured, in 185 1, in connection with 
his son-in-law, Howell Cooper, Henry Keep, and Pearson Mundy, he 
erected the WoodrufT House, which is a fitting monument to his sagacity 
and enterprise. He was a stockholder and director in the Jefferson 
County Bank, and ni 1842 was elected president, which office he filled 
for fifteen years prior to his death. He was prominently identified with 
all the varied interests of Watertown, and after the village was incor- 
porated he served as trustee and president many terms. He was chosen 
among the first by the firemen to be their chief engineer, held the office 
for many years, and in case of fire would get up in the dead of night, 
saddle his horse, and be among the first on the ground. In politics he 
was a conservative Democrat, never sought or accepted any political 
office, but in all business matters of the county he took a prominent 
otihcial part. For a number of years he was superintendent of the 
county poor-house, making frequent visits at all times, informing him- 
self in regard to the treatment of the inmates, and in these visits he 
would drop many a dollar in the hands of the worthy inmates, to enable 
them to provide for themselves some comfort. The extent of his charities 
will never be known, as he rarely let his left hand know what his 
right did. 

On October 5, 1817, Mr. Woodrufif was married to Roxana T. 
Bush, daughter of Eli and Roxana (Terry) Bush, both natives of 
Enfield, Connecticut. Mrs. Woodruff was bom in Oneida county, New 
York, was of comely person, and possessed more than ordinary intel- 
lectual ability and force of character. Their children were: Horace 
W., who married Maria A. Osgood; Lois P., who became the wife of 
Howell Cooper, now deceased; Maria D., who became the wife of 
Pearson Mundy, and died May 10, 1871 : Frederick B., now deceased, 
who manied Helen F'razell, also deceased; Emma A., who became the 



644 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

wife of Henry Keep, and after his death married Judge WilHam Schley, 
of Savannah, Georgia; Mary M., now deceased, who was the wife of 
the late Henry Cadwell, of Erie, Pennsylvania; Norman W., who died 
at St. Louis, aged about twenty-five years; Abbie A., who become the 
wife of Allen C. Beach, and died September 8, 1856; Sarah M., who 
became the wife of Roswell P. Flower. Mr. Woodruff died January 
16, 1857, aged sixty-five years. Mrs. Woodruff subsequently married 
Judge Stephen Strong, whom she survived, and lived to the age of 
eighty-five years. 

ALBERT HENRY METCALF, for almost forty years the in- 
cumbent of the office of ship keeper and naval custodian of the United 
States Naval Station at Sacketts Harbor, is a native of that town, the 
date of his birth being February 18, 1845. ^^e is a descendant of an 
English ancestry. 

Francis Metcalf, grandfather of Albert H. Metcalf, was born in 
Kent, England, and by his marriage to Sarah Carter the following 
named children were born: Mary, January 17, 1806; Hannah, Sep- 
tember 10, 1807; Henry, August 4, 1810, mentioned hereinafter; 
George, October 4, 1812; William, June 23, 1815, who lived in Troy, 
New York, where he died; Robert, June 5, 1817, died in the town of 
Ellisburg; Ann, June 7, 1820, wife of August Westcott, died in Houns- 
field, as did also Thomas, born February 8, 1822 ; John, born in Sep- 
tember, 1825, who lived and died in Adams Center. All the members 
of the family with the exception of George, who died in England, came 
to the United States in 1829, and became useful and active citizens. 

Henry Metcalf, father of Albert H. Metcalf, was a native of Eng- 
land, born August 4, 18 10. He was reared and educated in his native 
land, and on attaining his nineteenth year accompanied his parents to 
the United States, settling first at North Adams, Jefferson county. New 
York. He was a seafaring man, and for a number of years prior to 
1866, the year of his retirement, he had charge of the Navy Yard at 
Sacketts Harbor, New York. Mr. Metcalf was united in marriage at 
Sacketts Harbor, in 1843, to Mary Cadwell, who was born in Septem- 
ber, 1815, in the city of Dublin, Ireland, and emigrated to this country 
with her aunt in the year 1832, settling first in Kingston, Canada, from 
whence they subsequently removed to Sacketts Harbor, New York. 
Their children were: Albert H., mentioned hereinafter; Joseph, died 
in 185 1 : Robert died when about one year old; Thomas, deceased. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. M5 

wr.s married to Abbie Little, and lived at Sacketts Harbor: Minnie, wbo 
became the wife of George Luff, and now resides in Cumberland, \\ is- 
consin; Charlotte, who is the widow of J'ohn O'Hara, who died in 
Middletown, New York; she resides with her brother, Bailey Metcalf, 
proprietor of the Crowner House, one of the leading hotels in Water- 
town, New York; and Bailey, already referred to as one of the pro- 
prietors of the Crowner House. 

Albert H. Metcalf obtained a good English education in the schools 
of Sacketts Harbor, after which he followed the same occupation as his 
fatlier, that of seaman, for which he displayed a great aptitude. In 
1864 he enlisted in Company B, One Hundred and Forty-second Regi- 
ment New York Infantry, serving in the army of the James, partici- 
pated in the battle of Petersburg, and the Fort Fislier expedition, and 
was honorably discharged from the service of the United States gov- 
ernment on June 20, 1865. Since that year he has served in the 
capacity of ship keeper and naval custodian of Sacketts Harbor United 
Slates Naval Station, faithfully and conscientiously performing all the 
duties connected therewith. There are seven buildings on the reserva- 
tion. Mr. Metcalf is a member of Joseph K. Barnes Post, No. 360, 
Grand Army of the Republic, of Sacketts Harbor. 

At Sacketts Harbor, New York, in 1868, Mr. Metcalf was united 
in marriage to Frances Palmer, daughter of David and Fanny (Liver- 
more) Palmer, residents of Sacketts Harbor, the former named having 
been a shoemaker by trade. Their family consisted of four daughters 
and one son, as follows: Nina Elizabeth, who became the wife of 
Captain James Jackson, captain of one of the steamers on the Great 
Lakes; Anna Louisa, who became the wife of Clark M. Stern, a resi- 
dent of Sacketts Harbor; Gertrude W., who became the wife of Frank 
Stern, a resident of Sacketts Harbor; Kittle Virginia, who became the 
wife of Fred Smith, who is engaged in the jewelry business in Water- 
town ; and Harry David, born m January, 1883. died in July. 1898. All 
of the family are members of the Episcopal denomination, attending 
the services of Christ church of Sacketts Harbor. 

HARTWELL FRANKLIN BENT, a venerable and esteemed 
resident of the village of Antwerp, was born at Mount Holly, Rutland 
county, Vermont, July 11. 1825, a son of Thomas W. and Phidelia 
(Hammond) Bent. 

Thomas W. Bent was also a native of Mount Holly, Vermont, Ix/rn 



646 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

February i6, 1798. In 183 1 he removed from liis native state to 
New York state, settling in Lewis county, where he was successful 
in extensive farming operations. He was a member of the Methodist 
church, and highly esteemed throughout tlie community, this fact being 
attested Lo by his being chosen to fill several offices of trust and respon- 
sibility which were in the gift of the people of Lewis count)-. About 
the year 18 18 he married Phidelia Hammond, the ceremony being 
performed in Vermont, and the following named children were boin 
to them: Alvin F., whose death occurred in Antwerp, New York; 
Darius G., living at Castorland, New York: Tamar A., whose death 
occurred in Lewis county. New York; Hartwell F.. mentioned herein- 
after; Lydia L., wife of Joseph F. Graves, of Antwerp: Phoete C., 
whose death occurred in Lewis county ; George W., a resident of Granite- 
ville, Massachusetts; and Charles H., whose death occurred in Denver, 
Colorado. The father of these children died in Lewis county in 1853, 
and the mother in Antwerp in 1877. 

After a short residence in Lewis county. New York, whitlier he 
removed with his parents from his native state, Hartwell F. Bent re- 
moved to .'\ntwerp. Jefferson county, in 1852. He purchased a farm 
(known as the Locust Grove Stock Farm), which is located one mile 
west of Antwerp, in 1801. This he successfully operated for several 
years, after which he retired from agricultural pursuits, and purchased 
a house and lot in the village of Antwerp, where he has since resided. 
Since the firing on Fort Sumter Mr. Bent has been a staunch adherent 
of the Republican party. He is a member of the Congregational church, 
in which his wife also held men-ibership and was an active worker. He 
is an honored member of the Grange. 

In 1S52 Mr. Bent married ]\Ielvina A. Wicks, boin at Antwerp, 
New York, July 20, 1825, daughter of Benjamin and Elsie (Wilcox) 
Wicks, the former named having been one of the early settlers of the 
village of iVntwerp. Of their children Charles H. died at the age of 
eleven years, and Earl R. at the age of two years ; Mary Elva is a 
graduate of the Boston Music Conservatory, and follows the profes- 
sion of music teacher. She resided in Decatur, Michigan, for twelve 
years, but on the death of her mother, July 17, 1903, returned home 
to care- for her father's househoUl. Frank W. resides at home and man- 
ages the farm. He is a breeder of fine stock, making a specialty of 
Berkshire swine and Holstem cattle. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. <i47 

ALEXANDER BONAPARTE CLARK. Few citizens of Ant- 
werp are more thoroughly and justly esteemed in every relation of 
life than is Alexander B. Clark, who is the proprietor of a general 
store at Ox Bow \-iIlage. He was born in Rossie township, St. Law- 
rence county, New York, July 7, 184S, a son of Robert and Margaret 
(Dickson) Clark, and grandson of Robert and ^Margaret (Black) 
Clark. 

Robeit Clark was born at Jedburgh, Scotland, in 1801. During 
his early years he was deprived by death of a father's care and pro- 
tection, but his mother did all in her power to rear and educate him 
so he would be able to lead a life of usefulness and activity. In the 
year 18 18, when he was seventeen years old, he accompanied his mother 
to the United States, settling in the town of Rossie. Li 1822 he was 
united in marriage to Margaret Dickson, daughter of James Dickson, 
and immediately afterward commenced farming on land leased from 
George Parish, a large land owner in the town of Rossie, which vicinity 
was largely settled by Scotch families. The land was \t\-y rough and 
rocky, thus making it extremely difficult to till and cultivate, but being 
imbued with a spirit of perseverance and pluck he stuck to his task, 
and in due course of time was enabled to accumulate sufficient capital 
to purchase a farm, and from the proceeds of this he purchased several 
more farms in the same vicinity, thus being at the time of his decease 
a large land bolder. He was one of the founders of the Presbyterian 
church at Ox Bow, which opened for divine services October 22, 1837, 
and from that time until his death he served as elder. He filled 
several township offices, performing his duties in a highly creditable 
and conscientious manner. His political affiliations were with the Re- 
publican party. His wife, Margaret (Dickson) Clark, whose family 
also came to this country in 1818, bore him ten children, all of whom 
are now deceased w'lth the exception of Alexander B. and John H., of 
Denver, Colorado. Another son, George, left a daughter, now Madge 
Sutherland, a missionary in Burmah. A daughter, Jeannette, married 
Andrew Black, and died in Coburg, Ontario, Canada. 

The common schools of his native tow'nship afforded Alexander B. 
Cbrk a good opportunity ti.i acquire a practical education in the rudi- 
mentary branches, and fcir a period of time after laying aside his school 
books he turned his attention to farming on the homestead. In 1885 
ho engaged in the mercantile business at Ox Bow, wdiich he has since 
followed, and in which he has achieved a fair degree of prosperity. 



648 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

His store is stocked with a general line of goods, and b}- his prompt 
and courteous treatment of his patrons he has retained their trade from 
ye;ir to year and is constantly adding new ones to his Hst. When sixteen 
years old he joined the Presbyterian church, and has held membership 
in the same ever since, serving m the choir for a quarter of a century, 
and as superintendent of the Sunday school for many years. Politically 
he is a Republican, and fraternally a member of the order of Free and 
Accepted Masons of Antwerp, New York. 

Mr. Clark was married January 2. 1877, to Florence Hinsdale, only 
daughter of George and Harriet A. (Hamlin) Hinsdale. George Hins- 
dale was born in Antwerp. New York, November 11, 1819, a son of 
Ira Hinsdale (see Hinsdale, VII). 

ISRAEL ADAMS. In the death of Israel Adams, which occurred 
February 16, 1896, the city of Watertown lost one of its leading and 
respected citizens, whose life had been characterized by honesty and 
integrity in business, loyalty to his city, state and nation, and cordiality 
and kindness in social circles. He was born in Rodman, Jefferson 
county. New York, November 18, 1818, a son of Samuel and Sally 
(Wright) Adams, the former having been a native of JeiTrey. New- 
Hampshire, from wlnence he removed to Jefferson county. New York, 
during the period of the war of 1812, in which he was an active par- 
ticipant. He purchased a farm in Rodman and Watertown, and the 
active years of his life were devoted to the cultivation and improve- 
ment of the same. His last years were spent in the city of Water- 
town, where he died in 1855. A brother of Samuel Adams served in 
the Revolutionary war. 

Israel Adams was reared on his father's farm in Rodman, ob- 
tained a practical education in the common schools adjacent to his 
home, and by following the vocation of agriculture he was enabled 
in 1868 to retire from active duties and enjoy the ease and comforts 
obtainable from the handsome competency he acquired by his own labor. 
For a number of years he served in the capacity of appraiser of land 
for the Jefferson County Savings Bank, and by exercising good judg- 
ment and keen foresight his services were of inestimable value along 
this line of work. He was a strong temperance advocate, and also 
contributed liberally both of his time and money to the furtherance of 
every enterprise that appealed to him as a means of ad\-ancing the 




o^t^W^*^^^>c_- 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 649 

welfare and public good of the community. He supported the JMethodist 
Episcopal church, and was a Republican in politics. 

In January, 1857, Mr. Adams married Harriet Boynton, a daugh- 
ter of Jonathan and Maria (Kinney) Boynton, who were prominent 
residents of Rodman, New York, having removed there in the year 
1809 from the state of Vermont. Richard, father of Jonathan Boyn- 
ton, was a native of Scotland. The issue of this union was one daugh- 
ter, Harriet M.. wife of Warren B. Wheeler, of Watertown, New York. 
Mrs. Adams is living at the present time (1904), is in the full enjoy- 
ment of all her faculties, and possesses the warm regard of a large circle 
of friends. 

ANSON HARDER, of Redwood, is among the oldest members of 
the bar of Jefiferson county, New York, and has practiced his profession 
for the unusual period of nearly a half century with signal ability and 
success. He is of Dutch extraction, his paternal ancestors being immi- 
grants from Holland in colonial days, and were among the first settlers 
north of New York and along the upper Hudson and Mohawk valleys, 
finally locating in Herkimer county. Members of the family are now 
distributed throughout that and Columbia county and the counties lying 
between them. The ancestral traits of industry and probity have come 
down to the present generation, whose members occupy useful and hon- 
orable stations in life. 

John J. Harder, founder of the American line of the Harder family, 
and paternal great-grandfather of Anson Harder, was born in Holland 
in 1750. In his young manhood he came to America, settling as a 
pioneer in Columbia county. New York, near the present village of Nas- 
sau and not far from Troy. He was the father of four sons. John, 
the eldest, was born in Columbia county, in 1774. He removed to Her- 
kimer county, and was a pioneer settler at Danube, a farmer by occupa- 
tion, and made an honorable record during the war with Great Britain, 
1812-14, serving with the rank of captain. His sword is now the prized 
possession of his grandson, Anson Harder. Captain John Harder mar- 
ried Christinia Van Dusen, and they became the parents of four children : 
I. John, who died in Steuben county. 2. Nicholas, who died in 
Baldwinsville, New York: he married Mary Johnson, of Danube, New 
York. 3. Christina, who married David Johnson the same day her 
brother Nicholas married her husband's sister. David and Christina 



65(1 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Jolinson lived togetlier more than fifty years. 4. Jacob, Ijurn in Dan- 
ube, Xew York, in 1804. 

Jacob Harder, youngest son of Captain Jolm Harder, was reared 
and educated in Herkimer county, New York. He was a farmer, and 
by purchase became the owner of a fine tract of land consisting of 
about one hundred and forty acres. He died from typhoid fever at 
the early age of thirty years, almost at the beginning of what promised 
to be a most useful and successful life. He married Emily Thompson, 
who w'as born in 1802, in Danube, New York, a daughter of Dr. Ichabod 
Thompson, whose ancestors first settled in Connecticut, subsequently 
removing to New York, where he died young. Dr. Thompson was 
the father of six children: i, Joseph J.; 2, Jonathan: 3, Sally, who 
became the wife of Aaron Cronkite, both deceased; 4, Ichabod, de- 
ceased; 5, Elizabeth, who became the wife of Alexander Salsbury, one 
of the principal owners of the Redwood Glass Factory ; 6, Emily, who 
became the wife of Jacob Harder. 

Jacob and Emily (Thompson) Harder were the parents of five 
children, three of whom died in infancy. Those surviving are Anson 
Harder, to be further written of: Elizabeth, who became the wife of 
Asahel Hough, of Alexandria. The mother of these children died at 
the age of forty years. 

Anson Harder was born in Danube, Herkimer county. New York, 
August 5, 1834. He began his education in the common schools of 
his native village, and pursued advanced branches in the academies of 
Clinton, Fairfield and Fort Plain. He studied for his profession in 
the Poughkeepsie Law School, from which he was graduated in 1856. 
For a time afterward he taught school, and then entered the law office 
of Judge Hardin, of the firm of Knowlton & Hardin, at Little Falls, 
where he gained a practical knowledge of law. He then located in 
Leonardsville, Madison county, where he practiced for three years. Li 
1862 he removed to Redwood, which has from that time continuously 
been the scene of his efYort. A practitioner there for nearly forty-two 
years, he is honored among the oldest of his profession in the county, 
and as one whose ability and integrity are alike unassailable. With 
wide acquaintance, and intimate knowledge not only of the law but 
of titles, boundaries, etc.. it has fallen to his lot to act in a legal capacity 
for many of the best families in Jeiterson and St. Lawrence counties in 
connection with estates of much importance, in settlement and distribu- 
tion, for adminstrators, executors, trustees and guardians, and it is 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 051 

within the truth to saj' that no one in the county has acted in an ad- 
visory way to a larger number of widows, orphans and other heirs, 
if indeed any attorney at any time has equalled him in these respects. 
Such professional work has come to him through the years in such a 
manner as to be a tribute not alone to his ability but to his nobility of 
character and benignity of disposition. In larger degree a labor of love, 
founded in a genuine personal friendship for his clients, he will doubt- 
less persist in such service through the remainder of his years, though 
long past the age at which most men lay aside responsibilities and cares. 

Mr. Harder has also taken active part in various concerns conduc- 
ing to the advantage of the community. In connection with A. A. 
Holmes, he is interested in a line of steamboats on the St. Lawrence 
river plying between Alexandria Bay and Ogdensburg. Education finds 
in him an earnest and capable friend, and he has done much to advance 
school interests in his village and Cdunty. Not a member of any re- 
ligious body, he is in hearty accord with all in their purposes, and gives 
to their maintenance his cheerful support. He is a member of the Jef- 
ferson County Bar Association. For many years he has been a prom- 
inent member of the Lincoln League of Watertown. In politics he is 
a Republican of the Lincoln school, having been a member of the 
party and an earnest supporter of its principles from the day of its 
organization, his first \'ote having been cast for its first presidential 
candidate. General John C. Fremont, when the effort of the party was 
not to annihilate slavery, but to restrict it to its own soil, and save 
Kansas and Nebraska to freedom. He has been a delegate to nearly 
all the conventions of his party — county, senatorial, judicial and state — 
throughout his active career. He would undoubtedly have come to 
political preferment had his community not been strongly Democratic. 
At one time he was the nominee for the state senate, but was overborne 
by his democratic competitor. Colonel James F. Starbuck, the district 
being largely Democratic. 

In 1861 Mr. Harder was married to Miss Mai-y E. Crumb, born in 
Plainfield, Otsego county. New York. Her parents were Russell E. and 
Fidelia (Stillman) Crumb, whose children were as follows: i. Mary 
E., who became the wife of Anson Harder. 2. Emma, who resides in 
Walworth, Wisconsin. 3. Alice, who became the wife of Newall Bur- 
ton, resided at Delavan, Wisconsin ; she is now deceased, and left one 
child, Charles Burton. 4. Eugene, who resides on the family homestead; 



652 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

he married May Boberck. and tliey were the parents of one child. 5. 
Edgar, who resides in Chicago, IlHnois. 

To Anson and Mary E. (Crumb) Harder were born two children: 
I. Ann E., who became the wife of W. H. Townsend, a dentist resid- 
ing in the state of Washington, and they have one child. May Aires. 2. 
May E., who became the wife of Harry D. Judson, an employee in the 
government printing office, Washington, D. C, and to whom has. been 
bom a son, Laurence H. Mrs. Harder died in March, 1871, and in 
1874 Mr. Harder married Mis? Jennie Hutchins, a sister of Dr. Martin 
J. Hutchins. Of the latter marriage was born a son, Clarence Harder, 
who has charge of the farming and other business of his father. Clarence 
Harder married Miss Ella Salisbury, daughter of De Alton Salisbury, a 
prominent citizen of Theresa, New York. 

Mrs. Anson Harder, second wife of Mr. Harder, was born August 
9, 1842, in Schuyler, Herkimer county. New York, a daughter of Ben- 
jamin and Patience (Tanner) Hutchins. Her father was a native of 
the same county, born in 1806. In 1828 he removed to Jefiferson county, 
New York, and took up part of the old LaFarge property, and lived 
there some years, later removing to near Watertown, on the road to 
Brownville, where he remained fourteen years, and was for two years 
overseer of the poor. He then went to Iowa, and there died at the age 
of sixty-eight years. He was a son of Noah Hutchins, who was an 
early settler in Herkimer county, and a Revolutionary war soldier. He 
came to Orleans as a pioneer, and died there in 1828. His wife was 
Lydia Joy, who bore him five children. Patience Tanner, wife of Ben- 
jamin Hutchins, was a native of Rhode Island, a daughter of Isaac and 
Tabitha Tanner. Her father came to Schuyler as a pioneer, and there 
died. His wife bore him eleven children, of whom seven are living, viz. : 
I. Noah W., who went to Australia during the gold fever, and is now 
a lawyer, residing in Iowa. 2. Hannah, who became the wife of Lans- 
ing Hayer, and lives in Omaha, Nebraska. 3. Aires, who became the 
wife of Jefferson Townsend, whose residence is in Bellefouche (Indian 
name signifying Place of Beautiful Water) in North Dakota. Their 
son married Anne E., daughter of Anson Harder by his first wife, as 
mentioned above. 4. Horace, who is a painter, and lives in Iowa. 5. 
Jennie, who became the wife of Anson Harder. 6. Vilea, who became 
the wife of Hyland Mellen, of Omaha, Nebraska. 7. Esther, who be- 
came the wife of Mile VanHorn. The mother of these children died 
at the age of eighty-one years. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 653 

WILLIAM D. HANCHETTE, manager of the Central New 
York Telephone and Telegraph Company, is prominent among the 
business men of Waterlown. He was born in Watertown February 6, 
185 1, and was educated there in the pubHc schools. He was first em- 
ployed as a messenger boy by the Montreal Telegraph Company, a con- 
cern which was merged in the Western Union. He afterward came 
into the employ of the Great Northwestern Telegraph Company, where 
he was advanced from post to post until he was made manager of the 
Watertown office. He has always been a trusted and valued official, 
and he possesses executive ability and business talents of a high order. 
In 1888 he was made superintendent of the Central New York Tele- 
phone and Telegraph Company, a position which he has held ever 
since. He was elected city cliamberlain in 1883, and served for five 
years. 

J. MORTIMER CRAWE, M. D. Prominent among the lead- 
ing and eminent physicians of Watertown, New York, is Dr. J. Morti- 
mer Crawe, Jr., a descendant of a family many of whose members have 
been actively identified with that noble profession for many years, and 
it is doubtless from this ancestry that he inherited his taste and inclina- 
tion for his chosen line of work. He was born February 18, 1863, in 
Earlville, Madison county, New York, a son of Dr. J. Mortimer and 
the late Mary E. (Hecox) Crawe, and grandson of Dr. Ithemer B. and 
Charlotte F. (Mortimer) Crawe. 

Dr. Ithemer B. Crawe was born in Enfield, Hartford county, Con- 
necticut, June II, 1792. D'm-ing his early life he was handicapped by 
impaired health, but by careful habits and self-treatment he at length 
became physically strong, and completed his medical studies at the 
College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York city, in the class of 
1822. The same year he began the active practice of his profession in 
Clinton, Madison county. New York; six months later removed to 
Watertown, and after several years residence in that city located in 
Ogdensburg. Fie resided in the latter town for about three years, 
th.en assumed charge of a lead mining enterprise in Maine, which gave 
promise of success, but resulted in disaster ; later located at Pontiac, 
Michigan, but after the expiration of three years' residence there re- 
turned to Watertown, New York, where he was prominently connected 
with the medical profession throughout the remainder of his life. He 
was a skillful physician, a noted pathologist and physiologist, and a 



654 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

close student of liotany and mineralogy. He discovered and described 
sc\-eral ne\v plants, one of which was named for him "Carex Crawei" 
or "Crowe's Sedge." He was a member of the County Medical Society, 
and served as its secretary, censor and president; was appointed a dele- 
gate to t)ie State Society in 1834 and 1844; and in 1846, on the recom- 
mendation of the State Society, the Regents of the University con- 
ferred upon him an honorary doctorate degree. He was one of the 
organizers and prominent members of the Masonic order in Water- 
town, and served many years as secretary of Watertown Lodge. In 
June, 1S47, Dr. Crawe was drowned in Perch Lake, while returning 
from gatiiernig some rare plants for Professor Gray, of Cambridge, 
Massachusetts. 

Dr. John Mortimer Crawe was born in Watertown, New York, 
May 23, 1831. His education was acquired in the public and select 
schools of the neighborhood, and the Jefferson County Listitute. He 
began the study of medicine under the competent preceptorship of Dr. 
H. G. P. Spencer, and this was supplemented by the regular course at 
tl-.e Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, from which he was grad- 
uated in 1859. He at once established an office in Hamilton, Madison 
county. New York, and practiced his profession there for a number 
of years, with the exception of a short residence in the town of Cham- 
pion, this county. Subsequently he located in Watertown, and by the 
exercise of ability and skill m his professional duties he readily ac- 
quired an extensive and successful practice. He died October 29, 1901, 
in \\atertown. He was an active and leading member of the County 
Medical Society, of which he was one of the reorganizers in 1868, and 
in 1884 was one of the chief organizers and served as first vice-presi- 
dent of the New York State Medical Association. Dr. Crawe was 
appointed pension examiner in 1869, resigning after four years of 
service, and in 1881 accepted a place on the Jeft'erson county board of 
pension examiners, and served as its president four years. He was a 
Republican in political principle. On October 3, i860. Dr. Crawe 
married Mary E. Hecox, who died in 1899, a daughter of Jacob Hecox, 
of Earlville, New York. Their children are : J. Mortimer, Jr. : Harriet 
S. C. wife of Fred H. Moore, of L'tica : Frank Frederick, who died 
in infancy : and Edwin Paddock Crawe, a resident of Boston. 

Dr. J. Mortimer Crawe, Jr., was a student in the public schools 
of A\'atertown. He then entered the Medical Department of Columbia 
University, from which he was graduated, and in 1887 graduated 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 055 

ivom the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York city. He 
began acti\e practice in his father's office in Watertown, and at once 
put to a practical test the theoretical knowledge he acquired during 
his collegiate courses. He has served as president and treasurer of 
the Jefferson County Medical Association, and is one of the original 
members and treasurer of the Watertown City Medical Society, the 
latter organization having been formed at a meeting of physicians held 
January 28, 1896, in response to a feeling that closer association would 
be beneficial. During the first five years of his practice Dr. Crawe 
was associated with'his father, and then opened an independent office. 
Upon the retirement of the senior, due to failing health, six months 
before his demise, the son returned to the old office, in the Paddock 
building, which had been occupied by the elder from his arrival in 
Watertown. Engaged in a general family practice, he finds his time 
fully occupied, and gives little attention to political or social questions. 
He sustains Republican policies by his vote. 

WILLIAM HENRY POLLARD. In a list of Watertowns 
most respected and honored citizens the name of William H. Pollard 
would stand near the head. He is a son of William Pollard, who was 
born about 1824, in Devonshire, England, and was brought as a child 
to the United States. He was engaged in business as a confectioner, 
both in Albany and Utica. He married Julia Ann Gates, of Utica, 
who numbered among her ancestors General Horatio Gates, of Revo- 
lutionary fame. The Gates family is allied to the Stewarts of Ver- 
mont. Mr. and Mrs. Pollard were the parents of three children, among 
whom was William H., mentioned at length hereinafter. Mr. Pollard 
died in 1893. He was an honorable man and a good citizen The 
death of his wife occurred in 1900. 

William H. Pollard, son of William and Julia Ann (Gates) Pol- 
lard, was born August 6, 1848, in Utica, New York, and received his 
education in the common schools. At an early age he was placed as 
an apprentice in the Utica Steam Engine Works in order to learn the 
machinist's trade. Here he remained for six years, becoming in that 
time thoroughly familiar with all the details of the business. He then 
moved to Whitestown in order to accept a position with B. T. Bab- 
bitt, for whom he worked eight years. In 1S78 he removed to Water- 
town, where he entered the seivice of the Eames Vacuum Brake Com- 
pany as a machinist. This company was afterward merged in the 



656 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

New York Air Brake Company. Mr. Pollard retained his position 
during the transition period, and by reason of his faithful attention 
to business was in the course of time appointed general foreman. From 
this office he was advanced to that of assistant superintendent, and in 
1893 became general superintendent, in which capacity he is now act- 
ing. When Mr. Pollard first became connected with the company they 
employed eighteen men, a force which has since increased to twelve 
hundred. The high standing of the company, and the prosperous con- 
dition of the business are due in no small degree to the untiring indus- 
try and undisputed ability of the general superintendent. As a citizen 
Mr. Pollard is no less faithful than as a business man, and is never 
guilty of neglecting any political duty, although prevented by the 
imperative demands of his calling from taking an active part in public 
affairs. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, and is a prominent mem- 
ber of the Lincoln League, which indicates that he is a Republican. 

Mr. Pollard married, in 1873, Mrs. Man,' Barbey, and three chil- 
dren have been born to them, two of whom are living: Gertrude 
L and Charles W., both residents of Watertown, the latter being assist- 
ant superintendent of the Air Brake Works. 

OSBERT S. PRINDLE. One of the worthily self-made men of 
whom any community may justly be proud is Osbert S. Prindle, of 
Watertown. His grandfather, Joseph Prindle, was born in England, 
and settled in this state. The latter's son, Truman Prindle, was a 
native of Russia, Herkimer county. He was a carpenter and joiner, 
and married Lucy, daughter of Isaac Shepherd. They were the parents 
of five children, four of whom are living. Mr. Prindle was an indus- 
trious and worthy man, and was killed by an accident when his son, 
Osbert S., was but twelve years of age. Mrs. Prindle died in 1878. 

Osbert Shepherd Prindle, son of Truman and Lucy (Shepherd) 
Prindle, was born December p.y, 1833, in Copenhagen, Lewis county, 
and at the age of seven years went to live in the family of an uncle. 
He was there employed in manual labor during the summers, and in 
the winters attended school. Li spite of these meagre educational 
facilities his progress was such that at the age of seventeen he was 
able to engage in teaching. He spent several winters as a school- 
master in Jefferson county, and with the money thus earned entered 
himself as a student in Lowville Academy. After completing his 
course at this institution he again became a teacher, but at the end 




^. t^>^^Vt^ 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 667 

of two 3-ears his health failed and he was obliged to relinquish his 
work and go to Wisconsin in order to recuperate. After two years 
spent in that bracing climate he went in 1858 to New York, where he 
was employed for four or fi\e years as a commercial traveler. At the 
end of that time, feeling a preference for a more settled mode of life 
he went to Carthage, in tliis county, and opened a store which he con- 
ducted for six years, and then returned to the occupation of a com- 
mercial traveler. For twenty years he was employed in this capacity 
by the H. H. Babcock Company, and two years ago found himself in 
circumstances which justified his retirement. Although no longer 
actively engaged in the business world, Mr. Prindle is -largely inter- 
ested in negotiating transactions in real estate. In all his commercial 
relations he has earned a high reputation for sterling integrity, no less 
than for business ability. He is an active member of the First Pres- 
byterian church. 

Mr. Prindle married, in 1859, Orinda J., daughter of Layton Field, 
and their only child met an early death. Mrs. Prindle, whose many 
estimable qualities had won for her the sincere affection and resi>ect 
of all who knew her, died October 23, 1902. 

FREDERICK TIFFANY STORY, who passed away at his home 
in Water town, October 8, 1896, was a citizen of the city for more than 
half a century of his mature and active life. He was an energetic and 
successful business man and a public-spirited citizen, but will be longest 
remembered for his genial and hopeful personality. 

His father, William Story, was a native of Norwich, Connecticut. 
He was married, June 6, 1809, to Eunice Cary, who was born Decem- 
ber 3, 1789, in W'indham, Connecticut. Immediately after the wedding 
the young couple set out to make a home in Cherry Valley, New York, 
where Mr. Story engaged in business as a hatter. Later he operated a 
stage line between Albany and Utica, and conducted taverns along the 
route. His business was conducted in liberal fashion, and he was well 
known and popular along the Mohawk Valley. He died October 3, 
1837, at Cherry Valley. His wife survived until February 20, 1876, 
dying at Little Falls, in her eighty-seventh year. 

Frederick T. Story was the fourth son and sixth child in a family 
of six sons and two daughters, and was bom November 25, 1824, at 
Cherry Valley. He was educated in the public schools of the locality^ 
and l:efore the close of his twentieth year he came to Watertown and 



658 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

engag-ed in mercantile business. For seven years he kept a crockery store, 
and developed an extensive trade, due to his fair deahng and pleasant 
and courteous manners. In 185 1 he constructed the Watertown gas 
works, and subsequently disposed of the store, giving his entire atten- 
tion to the lighting plant during the balance of his life, and making 
it one of the most efficient in the northern counties. 

Mr. Story was always a promoter of advancement, and gave his 
practical and earnest support to any measures that seemed to him right. 
He was a man of democratic sympathies and altruistic impulses, devoted 
to home life, and possessed of those attributes of geniality and wit that 
give to the home its most cheering atmosphere. He was generous, hos- 
pitable, and kind-hearted to the last degree. A member of Trinity 
(Protestant Episcopal) church for many years, he was, during that 
time, a vestryman for more than twenty-five. As a representative of the 
church, he was a member of the board that established the City Hospital 
in 1 88 1. Though not in any sense a politician, he took the intelligent 
interest in state and national progress which is the part of ex-ery good 
citizen. 

Mr. Story was married, in 1853, ^' Monroe, Michigan, to Miss 
Harriet I-^oster Smith, daughter of Major Henry and Elvira (Foster) 
Smith, the latter a daughter of Judge Jabez Fosterj of Watertown. Ma- 
jor Smith was a graduate of the second class at West Point, and was 
prominent in military circles. He was a captain in the Black Hawk war, 
was stationed for some time at Sackets Harbor, and died July 24, 1847, 
in Vera Cruz, Mexico, of yellow fever. The only child of Frederick 
T. and Harriet F. Story, Henry Smith by name, died when two years 
old. 

When the hours of business were over the happy atmosphere of his 
dehghtful home sufficed for Mr. Story, and he did not affiliate with any 
social or fraternal organizations. The church received his warm sup- 
port in every undertaknig, and his demise was very appropriately observed 
by the vestry in the follownig memorial, adopted at its first meeting and 
spread upon the records; 

"The vestry of Trinity church desire to record a memorial of their 
late associate and fellow vestryman and friend, Frederick T. Story. 

"Mr. Story has served zealously and faithfully and well upon this 
vestry for a quarter of a century, and his sudden death leaves a vacancy 
which will not be readily filled. 

"His counsel was always as wise and godly as his convictions were 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 669 

strong. In no slight degree was the trend of the churcli"s hie the result 
of his influence, and he gave Ireelv to effect what he advised. 

"But even more wiU we miss him as a friend whose warm and gen- 
erous spirit tempered his robust and manly straightforwardness and 
turned an official relation into one of affection. The church's loss is also 
a deep, personal bereavement to each one of the congregation. 

"We extend our earnest sympathy to his family.'" 

This article cannot be more appropriately closed than by quoting 
the tribute of a friend, to whom long association had made known every 
phase of his character. It is as follows: 

"Mr. Story has long been prominent among the business men of 
. Watertown. His business, domestic and religious characteristics were 
of the most exalted kind, and commanded the unqualified admiration of 
all who knew him. The exact date of his location in "Watertown I do 
not at this moment recall, but it is more than fifty years since 1 knew 
hnn as a merchant, 'and during all these years he has borne the reputa- 
tion for mtegrity, for purity, for kindness, for keen perception, for ro- 
bust honesty and fidelity to right, surpassed by no man in Watertown 
He was a lovable man, who performed his part in every field of action 
that came to his hand. His kindness, his tender regard for the rights 
and feelings, and even the frailty of others, was such as to^ mark him 
as one of God's noblemen. The mantle of his charity was of the broad- 
est, most noble and Christian character. He respected those whO' pros- 
pered and was not unmindful of the unfortunate. He not only shunned 
evil, but was always ready and aggressive to do good. May his memory 
be cherished, and his noble character be imitated by those who have ob- 
served his stainless walks and ways before all men. His manly dignity, 
undimmed by ostentations, he wore like a garment. His generous im- 
pulses always carried him to the extreme limit of his ability. No tear 
was ever shed by reason of any shortcomings of his. No thorn was 
ever planted by him for others' feet, no matter how high or how humble 
a walk they tread." 

CORNELIUS TIEBOUT SACKET, of Cape Vincent, was born 
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 22, 1870. His father; General 
Delos Bennett Sacket, was born at Cape Vincent, New York, on the 
14th of April, 1822, a son of Dr. Gideon Shepard Sacket, who was a 
pioneer of Cape Vincent, fought at the battle of Sacketts Harbor, and 
was at one time collector of the port of Cape Vincent. His wife was 
a Bush, of the Lewis county family. They had two sons and a daugh- 
ter, Delos B. being the eldest. Julia E., the second, is the wife of Bruce 
Ainsworth, of Cape Vincent. Theophilus Bush, the youngest, resides 
in Bozeman, Montana. Dr. G. S. Sacket was a native of Westfield, 



660 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

Massacluiselts. After acquiring his early education near his home, 
Delos B. Sacket entered the West Point MiHtary Academy on the ist 
of July, 1840, and was graduated on the ist of July, 1845, being a 
mcmter of the same class to which General W. T. Sherman belonged. 
He afterward took part in the military occupation of Texas in the war 
with Mexico, m 1846 holding the rank of lieutenant of cavalr}^ He 
took part in the battles of Palo Alto, May 8, 1846; Resaca de la Palma, 
on the 9th of May; and Monterey, September 21, 23, 1846, and was 
brevetted first lieutenant May 9 for gallant and meritorious conduct 
in those engagements. He was afterward engaged in escorting recruits 
tc Fort Gibson, Indian Territory, and Fort Smith, Arkansas, and was 
second lieutenant of the First Dragoons. June 30, 1846. He was in 
Arkansas in 1847-8; at Sante Fe, New Mexico, in 1848-9; Dona Ana, 
Mexico, in 1849; and was made first lieutenant of the First Dragoons, 
December 27, 1848, and engaged in scouting against the Apache In- 
dians in 1849. He was on recruiting service in 1850; at the military 
academy as assistant instructor of cavalry tactics from December 10, 
1850, to April 6, 1855; and on recruiting service in the garrison at Fort 
Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1855. He was commissioned captain of the 
First Cavalry, March 3, 1855, and was engaged in removing intruders 
from the Indian lands in Kansas in 1855 and 1856. He served as a 
member of the board appointed to revise the army regulations, at Wash- 
ington, D. C, in 1856-7, and in the latter year was made inspector of 
horses and mules at Cincinnati, Ohio. He was next engaged in fron- 
tier duty at Fort Riley, Kansas, quelling the Kansas disturbances of 
1857-8. In the latter year he took part in the Utah and Cheyenne expe- 
dition; was at Fort Smith, Arkansas in 1858-9; and took part in the 
Antelope Hill expedition in the Indian Territory in 1859. General 
Sacket was on leave of absence in Europe in 1859-60, and upon his 
return to this country was engaged in frontier duty at Fort Arbuckle. 
He was commissioned major of the First Cavalry January 31, 1861. 

Throughout the civil war General Sacket was engaged in active 
military service of a varied character. He went on the march from the 
Indian Territory to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, from the 3d to the 
27th of May, 1861, as acting lieutenant-colonel of the Second Cavalry; 
was acting inspector-general of the department at Washington, D. C, 
from June 13, to August 18, 1861, and as mustering and disbursing 
officer in New York city from August 8 to December 12, 1861. On 
the ist of October, 1861, he had been made colonel on the staff of the 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 661 

inspector-general. He was next inspector-general of the Army of the 
Potomac from December 13, 1861, to March 10, 1863; in the Virginia 
peninsular campaign on the staff of Major General McClellan from 
March to August, 1862, being present at the battles of Gaines' Mills, 
June 2y\ of Glendale, June 30, and Malvenr Hill. July i. 1862. He 
was in the Maryland campaign on the staiY of the commanding general 
of the Army of the Potomac in September and November. 1862, being 
present at the battles of South Mountain, Septemlier 14. 1862, and 
Antietam. September 17, 1862; and in the Rappahannock campaign, 
was on the staff of Major-General Burnside. He was also present at 
the battle of Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862, and on the loth of 
January following was placed in charge of the inspector-general's office 
in Wasliington. where he remained until May 26, 1863, when he was 
appointed a member of the board to organize the invalid corps, serv- 
ing until August 10, 1863. He was next made a member of the board 
for retiring disabled officers, and on the ist of April, 1864, was ap- 
pointed on inspection duty in the department of the Tennessee, Cum- 
berland, Arkansas and New Mexico, serving until August, 1865, when 
he was sent to New York city to await orders. On the 13th of March, 
1865, he was brevetted brigadier-general for faithful and meritorious 
service during the war of the rebellion. His death occurred in Wash- 
ington. D. C., March 18, 1885, being inspector-general at the time. 

General Sacket married Frances Ann Williams, who was born in 
New York city, December 2, 1834. Her father was at one time the 
owner of large property interests there, having a tract extending from 
Broadway to First avenue between Fourteenth and Twentieth streets. 
The children of General Delos B. and Frances A. (Williams) Sacket 
are: Frank W., born September 15, 1867, and now in Cape Vincent; 
Cornelius T. ; and Eliza Ross, who was born in April. 1872, and mar- 
ried Charles Moore De Valin, past assistant surgeon of the United 
Slates Navy. They have one child, Frances Sacket De Valin, born in 
November, 1900. 

Cornelius T. Sacket acquired his education in Washington. D. C, 
in Chicago, Illinois, and in Tivoli-on-the-Hudson, a military school. 
He is a Republican in politics, and a prominent Mason, belonging to 
Cape Vincent Lodge, No. 293, F. and A. M. ; Cape Vincent Chapter, 
No. 96, R. A. M.; Watertown Commandeiy, No. 11. K. T. : Central 
Consistory, S. P. R. S., at Syracuse, New A'ork; and Media Temple 



662 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

of the Mystic Shrine, at W'atertown. He is also connected with the 
Sons of Veterans, and is a member of the Aztec Ckib of 1847. 

He was married at Cape Vincent, January 17, 1901, to Josephine 
Snunders, who was educated in the Cape Vincent High school, and is 
a daughter of Captain Joseph and Harriet (Vincent) Saunders. Cap- 
tain Saunders is retired from many years' service on the lakes in the 
merchant marine. 

HORACE TRUMAN STOEL, an esteeme.l retired citizen of 
Cape Vincent, is a native of this county, born in 1829, in the town of 
Hounsfield, in the locality known as Stowell's Corners. His family is 
of ancient American lineage, traced through several worthv ancestors. 

(I) Samuel Stoel (Stoyel, Stowel, Stowell) came to what is 
now Hingham, Massachusetts, in 1647. As this town was named by 
its settlers from their native town of Hingham, in Norfolk county, 
England, he is supposed to have come from there. He was a weaver 
by trade. In 1649 ^^^ married Mary, daughter of John and Frances 
Farrow, and they had eleven children — Mary, Samuel, John, David, 
Remember, Benjamin, an infant unnamed, William, Israet (died young), 
Israel and Elizabeth. Five generations bearing the name of Samuel 
lived on the old homestead on Fort Hill street, Hingham. 

(II) David, third son and fourth child of Samuel and Mary 
(Farrow) Stoel, went to Cambridge, where he was married April 7, 
1695, to Mary Steadman. They settled in Newton, Massachusetts, 
where she died. He was a weaver, and lived to a great age, being 
long known as "Old Stoel." His children were: David, Benjamin, 
Samuel, Ruth, John and Mary. 

(III) David (2), eldest child of David (i) and Mary (Stead- 
man) Stoel, was also a weaver, and was twice married. The surnames 
of his wives are unknown, the first being Elizabeth, and the second 
Patience, to whom he was married in 1716. He lived several years 
in \Vatertown, Massachusetts, and died in Newton in 1724. His chil- 
dren were: Da\'id, Isaac, Samuel. Elizabeth (died voung), Elizabeth, 
Jo.shua (or Jerusha) and Ebenezer. 

(IV) Samuel, third son and child of David (2) and Elizabeth 
Stoel, lived some time in Willington, Connecticut, whence he moved to 
Vermont, in 1774. He had twelve children — Asa, Mary, Abel, Anna, 
Rebecca, Abigail, Ozni, John, David, Eunice (died young), Eunice 
and Jeremiah. 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 663 

(V) Ozni. third son and seventh child of Samuel Stoel, was born 
in Vermont, and was a farmer all his active life. His wife belonged 
to the Wescott family. Mr. Stoel was among the earliest to come into 
Jefferson county from Vermont. His first visit w^as short, but after 
spending some time in Canada he settled here about 1811, and for him 
Stoel's Corners was named. He was a soldier in the war which began 
soon after his arrival, and participated in the memorable action at 
Sacketts Harbor. His children were: William, John, Ozni, Shubael, 
Polly, Abigail, Freelove, Rebecca and Roxana. 

(yi) William, eldest child of Ozni Stoel, Ijorn in Vermont, 
married Hannah, daughter of Verannis and Julia (Ward) Moore, and 
was a native of Saratoga county. New York. They had the following 
children: Norman, a resident of Ellisburg; Cordelia; Julia, wife of 
Benjamin Steadman, who lives near Rochester, Minnesota; Elizabeth, 
married John Armstrong; Orrin, died young; William, killed by In- 
dians in California; Ozni, living in Eugene City, Oregon; and Horace, 
mentioned at length below. William Stoel and his father kept a road- 
side inn at Stoel's Corners for many years, and when there was a large 
amount of teanniig between Watertown and Henderson and lake shore 
points. William moved to the town of Cape Vincent, where he pur- 
chased a finely located farm and was prospered. He was a Baptist 
in religious faith, and a Democrat in politics. He died at the age of 
eighty-three years. 

(VII) Horace T. Stoel devoted his attention to agricultural pur- 
suits throughout his active career, with the exception of six years, 
which were spent in California, wdiere he went overland in 1852. He was 
engaged in mining on Clear Creek and French Gulch, and also worked 
a claim in partnership with Theodore Steadman, who is now a resident 
of Minnesota. For two or three years he was engaged in butchering, 
in partnership with Thomas B. Burrows. He has taken an active in- 
terest in the improvement and welfare of the village of Cape Vincent; 
is a member of the Episcopal church ; a member of Cape Vincent Lodge, 
No. 293, F. and A. M., and he, together with his four sons, casts his 
vote with the Democratic party. He was noted, during his active 
career, as a breeder of fine liorses, and a sucessful dairy farmer. He 
reared and drove several superior trotters. For the past five years he 
has been president of the Cape Vincent Agricultural Society. For six 
years he served as assessor of his town. In 1859 Mr. Stoel was mar- 
1 ied, at Depauville, to Anna Irvine, who was born at Riverview, New 



66i GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

York, in 1837. Tlieir cliiklren are: Eva, .\(klie, who became tlie wife 
of Elmer E. Reynolds, and is the mother of one child, Gladys Rey- 
nolds; Fred, mentioned hereinafter; Horace T., Jr., wlio married 
Sarah Clark, and resides in Seattle, Washington ; Charles, who mar- 
ried Maggie Empy, and one child has been born to them. Ruth Stowell, 
July 3, 1897; 1'homas B., who was educated at Hungerford Collegiate 
Institute and Potsdam Normal School, and is principal of the Sacketts 
Harbor High School. 

Fred Stowell attended the common schools of Cape Vincent ; Ives 
Seminary, Antwerp : Cazanovia Seminary, Madison county : and the 
Albany Law School, graduating from the latter named institution in 
1889, and was admitted to the bar in the spring of the same year. Dur- 
ing the two years prior to his graduation he read law with Porter & 
Walts, of Watertown, and in the fall of 1889 laegan active practice in 
Pierre. South Dakota, where he remained two years. In June, 189 1, 
he returned to Cape Vincent, New York, and has since continued his 
practice, which has steadily increased during the passing years as a 
I'esult of his ability and skill in legal matters and his untiring efforts 
tO' serve his clients to the best advantage. The fact of his having been 
chosen to serve as supervisor of Cape Vincent for six years, from 1896 
to 1902, town clerk for two years, and village clerk for three years, 
attests the esteem in which he is held by his fellow citizens. He is 
an honored member of Cape Vincent Lodge, No. 293. F. and A. M. ; 
Cape Vincent Chapter. No. 11, same order: and Cape Vincent Court of 
the Independent Order of Foresters. 

MORRIS ESSELSTYN LEE, who has been engaged in the prac- 
tice of law at Cape Vincent since 1859, and has been village clerk and 
attorney for thirty years, was born here December 23. 1825. 

The family is of English lineage, and was founded in America at 
an early period in the colonization of the new world. Samuel Lee was 
a resident of Schenectady. New York, during the progress of the Rev- 
olutionary war. Roswell Taylor Lee, son of Samuel Lee, was torn 
in Connecticut, and at an early date became a resident of Cape Vincent, 
New York, where he engaged as clerk in the general store of Essel- 
styn & Ainsworth. This firm not only carried a line of general mer- 
chandise, but also potash, lumber and other commodities produced in 
this region. The early business of Cape Vincent was the manufacture 
of potash from tlie ashes procured from the clearing of the land, where 



GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 665 

forests — both pine and oak — were cut down in large quantities, the 
logs being sent by raft to Quebec, which was the principal market. Cape 
Vincent at that time was the only rafting station in Jefferson county, 
and lunil)er, potash and staves were used as legal tender. Roswell T. 
Lee subsequently became a partner in the mercantile enterprise, with 
which he was connected for a number of years, winning a gratify nig 
measure of success thereby. After his retirement from mercantile life 
he made judicious investments in real estate, and became the owner of 
considerable land. The Carlton House of Cape Vincent is built upon 
the site of the old family homestead there. Roswell T. Lee was united 
in marriage to Miss Delia Esselstyn, and their children are: Morris E., 
Wilhelmina, James, Frances, William, Delia, Josephine and Albert. Of 
these Frances, William and Willielmina are now deceased, and the others 
have all removed from Jefferson county with the exception of Morris 
E. Lee, who for many years has been one of the most prominent and 
honored citizens of Cape Vincent. 

Having acquired his preliminary education in the common schools 
of his native village, Morris E. Lee afterward attended the Black River 
Literary Institute at Watertown for three years, and then entered Hamil- 
ton College at Clinton, New York, where he was graduated in 1847. This 
class numliered various members who afterward became distinguished, 
including General Joseph R. Hawley, now United States senator from 
Connecticut, and owner of the Hartford Courant; Thomas Hastings, 
president of the Union Tiieological Seminary of New York city ; John 
R. Pomeroy, a prominent law writer, whose works are still regarded as 
authority; Emmons Clark, who was colonel of the Seventh New York 
Regiment and many years secretary of the l>oard of health of New York 
city ; and Rev. William Schofield, pastor of a church of the Presbyterian 
denomination in Washington, D. C. While in college Mr. Lee became 
a member of the Sigma Phi, a college fraternity founded in 1825, and 
of which he became a representative in 1844. He pursued a course in 
law in Hamilton College under Professor Theodore W. Dwight, who 
was afterward president of Columbia College of New York city. He 
afterward read law with Laban H. Ainsworth, at Cape Vincent, and 
following his admission to the bar at Syracuse in the fall of 1859 he 
entered upon the practice of his profession in his native village, where 
he has remained to the present time. His clientage has been of a dis- 
tinctively representative character, and he has long figured as one of 
the most prominent members of the legal fraternity in his part of the 



6G6 GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY. 

state. For thirty years he has served as village attorney and village 
clerk, having been elected to that position upon the Republican ticket. 
On attaining his majority he espoused the cause of the Whig party, with 
which he affiliated until its dissolution, when he joined the ranks of the 
new Republican party, and has since marched under its banners. 

Mr. Lee was married at Sacketts Harbor, New York, in August, 
i860, to Miss Frances Bracy, a daughter of Deacon Bracy, of that place, 
and when she formed the acquaintance of Mr. Lee she was engaged in 
teaching at Cape Vincent. Her death occurred March 5, 1901, when 
she had reached the age of sixty-seven years and three months. Mr. and 
Mrs. Lee were the parents of two daughters and a son: Delia, who re- 
sides with her father; William, of Rochester, New York; and Bertha, 
who is employed as typewriter by the General Electric Company of 
Schenectady, New York. The daughters were educated at the Pots- 
dam Normal School at Potsdam, New York, and the son, after attend- 
ing the public schools at Cape Vincent, began railroading. He had 
charge of the electric works of W^atertown, was afterward in the service 
of the New York Central Railroad on the Hudson river at Fishkill, but 
is now connected with the Lehigh Vallev Railroad at Rochester, New 
York. 

Mrs. Delia (Esselstyn) Lee. mother of Morris E. Lee, was born 
at Claverac, Columbia county. New York, a daughter of Richard Morris 
and Charity (Van Hoesen) Esselstyn, the latter named being a native 
of Claverac. While attending school at Claverac, the following letter 
was written by Mrs. Lee to her parents, who resided at Cape Vincent, 
where her father served as postmaster. It was directed to Richard M. 
Esselstyn, Postmaster, St. Lawrence, Cape Vincent, New York. The 
letter is dated Hudson, N. Y., July 27, 1818: 

"My Dear Parents : To you with pleasure, my Dear Parents, I again embrace 
the offered opportunity of writing a few lines. Through a kind Providence, whose 
surrounding care watches us at all times, we arc all in good health, except Aunt 
Mary, who is quite unwell. I was out at my uncle's at Claverac last Saturday. 
They were all in good health, and I also went to church. Saw them partake of 
the Sacrament. I returned on Monday morning so as to be at school in season. 
Richard Esselstyn lives in Hudson. He studies at Dr. Whiles. I am glad to hear 
that mother and father expect to come down the first of September. I am in hopes 
you will bring Mary with you, for I long to see her and all the rest as much. Give 
my love to Uncle and Aiuit Nash, and to Uncle John's family, and take a great 
share of it yourselves. Oh. my Mother, how I long to see you; I hope you will 
not fail of coming down. Uncle Hyat and .^.nnt Catherine desire to be remembered 
to thee and also Uncle and Aunt Marv ioin with me in love to all. Adieu my Dear 
Parents. Your dutiful child. Delia E. Esselstyn." 

Richard M. Esselstvn was of Dutch ancestry, and was a prominent 
citizen of Cape Vincent before the war of 1812. In his last days he par- 
ticipated in a historic event, being a passenger on the initial trip of the 
first steamboat on the Hudson river or any waters, the invention of 
Robert Fulton. This was on his way home from a trip to New York, 
where he went to purchase goods for his store. The journey from this 
point to Albany was made on horseback. While returning he was 
stricken with smallpox, and died at Albany, before 1825. 



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